Till the devil do us part
by Cengiz
Summary: There is this saying "Till the death do us part" and Chloe knew from the beginning, that she had just one life and needed to make the best out of it. And with the devil as your friend, death didn't seem so final anymore. But, was it really a blessing to get a second chance or did this only create more chaos in her life?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hello everyone. I just recently stumbled upon the show Lucifer and was instantly hooked on this fascinating character. I couldn't help start writing a little fic just to experiment with the storyline and the characters. Please let me know if I get too much OOC.

Also, English is not my mother tongue and unfortunately I don't have a beta reader, so there will be mistakes in it. I hope not too many. Please feel free to point them out. I have a lot to do in RL, so please be aware that the next update will probably in two weeks from now.

The story takes place after episode 1x10. To be more exact, it starts the morning after Chloe came drunk to Lucifer and he refused to sleep with her.

 **Edit-1:** Hello my dears. I had a really nice reviewer who pointed out to me that in the first four chapters not only Chloe was waayy out of line, but also that Lucifer got a really nasty bashing. I re-read the chapters and I'm tremendously sorry you're totally right. I realised I didn't give them the tribute they deserve, not only as individuals but moreover as a team. As an excuse for that, I had a really tough RL situation when I wrote those first four chapters and unfortunately, it reflected massively onto the story. I hope this won't happen again. Therefore I chose to re-write them, not the storyline but I explain their thoughts and everything a little more. So you hopefully will understand better why they act the way they did.

 **Edit-2:** now **beta-read** by Daemon. All remaining mistakes are my own :D

I hope you like the new version.

Enjoy!

* * *

 _Slowly she walked towards the new arrivals, looking down on the card that Lucifer had given her. Its inscription changed at every lost soul she addressed it to, showing the sins they'd done to get down to hell and, therewith, helping her to better decide how she would punish them._

 _She looked around them, a faint smile playing across her lips in anticipation of what she would do to each one of them._

 _Oh, how she loved her new job!_

 _Suddenly, one particular soul caught her eye, her familiar features bringing back the memories of a life that was long gone. In an instant, she was at her side, eyeing her suspiciously. She didn't know why she was down here in hell. The detective was a good person, a good soul, that was for certain! She definitely didn't belong to this place._

 _Gazing down at her card, she read the words the black letters had formed and let her head fall back, screaming upwards, "Really!? For that, you send her down here? Damn God!"_

 _She turned around, calling him. "Go and get Lucifer down here!" she ordered as he reached her side._

 _"You're aware that he will torture you to dea-," he stopped, realising his mistake, he quickly changed his words, "well, eternity when you disturb him because of a damn soul?"_

 _"It's different with her," she simply answered._

 _"Why?" he asked, not understanding at all._

 _"Just like you're mine, she's his. Get him down here," she ordered again, and this time, he obeyed._

o~o

 _about 5 weeks earlier_

o~o

Chloe had had barely time to change into new clothes as she got called to a new crime scene. This was more than good. A new case meant her mind would be occupied a lot, and that meant, she wouldn't have time to think about the night she'd manoeuvred herself into and the awkward morning that had followed.

She briefly thought about calling Lucifer for help, but quickly dismissed this idea. Being alone on a case was probably just right to sort things out; especially how to maintain her strictly and absolutely only professional relationship with him in future.

' _At least, I hadn't slept with him_ ,' she mentally reassured herself and hopped into the car, completely ignoring the fact that this only hadn't happened thanks to Lucifer rejecting her.

It didn't take long for her to drive to the old warehouse where a body was found. She stepped out of the car, breathing in the fresh morning air to get into full detective mode, and heading towards a policeman who cordoned off the crime scene, as she suddenly heard a very familiar voice calling after her.

"Hello, Detective. Nice to see you again so soon," Lucifer greeted her overly joyfully, wearing a wide toothy grin on his face as he stepped out of his car and jogged to her.

Chloe winced inwardly and squeezed her eyes shut as the memories came flooding back into her mind, triggered by his mere presence: Her text message, Dan's reply, the frustration she felt, the too much alcohol in her system, her trying to _kiss_ him, her wanting to _sleep_ with him. Not because she wanted him, or because he wanted her. She would only have done it to get back at her ex, to simply score Dan off. And that was something Lucifer had definitely not deserved. Regardless of his non-stop teasing or sexual references, he was her partner, sort of. She trusted him and he trusted her. Jeez, he was the only one who wanted to work with her. And she had almost risked all that – their work, their somehow, kind of friendship – just because she was angry about getting dumped.

The anger about herself and the embarrassment she felt rose to a new high, letting her blood rush through her veins and end directly in her cheeks. Chloe quickly pushed the thoughts aside and swallowed the emotions, locking them deep down inside of her. She was at work. She needed to concentrate, to focus on what was in front of her. He was only a couple of paces behind her, as she decided to continue her walk towards the building. Her cheeks were probably glowing, she felt it, and knew he would definitely think this was because of his presence. Well, it was because of his presence. Kinda. But this was something he didn't need to know. Right? "Why are you here?" she questioned with an angrier voice than she had intended to, showing her badge to the policeman, who quickly pulled back the tape, letting her and Lucifer pass.

Lucifer stared at her back in confusion. Knowing he hadn't screwed up anything since their last encounter, he quickly came to the conclusion that it must have something to do with either the case or detective douche. He placed his bets on the latter. Determined to lift her spirits, he took two large steps, reaching her side, and observed her out of the corners of his eyes. His concern quickly changed back into delight, as he made out the colour on her cheeks. "Are you alright?" he asked, not hiding his amusement in the slightest.

Chloe continued walking towards the door, fixing her sight on what was in front of her to not gaze to his side as she counter-questioned, "What do you mean?"

"Well, if I didn't know any better I would assume that you're a little flustered," he answered gleefully, not taking his eyes off of her features.

Having him so close to her, suddenly made her heart race in her chest and she needed all her willpower to keep her composure. She swallowed the invisible lump in her throat, hoping that her nervousness didn't affect her voice as she retorted, pretending not to know what he was talking about, "Why should I be flustered?" Her voice came out steady and even, and she sighed with relief. She briefly showed her badge to the police officer that was guarding the entrance and then stepped inside.

It was a large hall, filled with hundreds of boxes packed on top of each other, leaving only little corridors to walk in. She followed a slight blood trace, right to the place where the body of a man in his mid-forties lay on the ground, covered in his own blood.

"Well, because of our little sleepover," Lucifer teased her cheekily but trailed off as he got sight of the body. Its torso sliced open, offering a direct view to the ribcage and the intestines. Or, to be more precise, to the place where the intestines should have been. "Fascinating!" he exclaimed and squatted down. His eyes sparkled brightly at the scene in front of him and the large smile on his face let him appear like a child that just had unwrapped its favourite Christmas gift.

Any uneasiness about their chat was instantly gone, and Chloe looked down at her _partner_ with a mixture of disgust and bewilderment. "Are you serious?!"

* * *

 **A/N:** Still short for a chapter but now much more with the additional text. I hope their start makes more sense now and that it triggers you to continue reading ;) Also, that dear reader pointed out that I only tell the background story in the first four chapters and that the actual story starts in chapter 5. I agree to that :) So, if you prefer you can also just skip the first 4 and go directly to the interesting stuff ;)

The next chapters will have more words, though. I promise! Hope you liked it.

Have a nice day!

:o)


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Hello everyone. Yes, yes, I know, I've said, I probably won't upload within the next two weeks, and now it's only been three days. But I've got a conference coming up and need distraction and encouragement. And right now, it seems I can only get this by uploading a new chapter. So, you're lucky.

 **Edit 1** : Jay was so kind and mentioned some of the mistakes. Thank you :D And it's **now beta-read** by Daemon.

 **Edit 2** : I changed some bits after re-reading it, to give more _flow_ to the text _._

And: this story is purely fictional, I'm not familiar with any forensics or medical treatments or that kind, so sorry in advance if I'd written something completely bollocks.

Anyway. Here comes the chapter. I hope you like it.

Enjoy!

* * *

Lucifer looked up at her, his eyes still sparkling like diamonds. His lips had curled up into a wide smile as he stated in pure joy, "Just look at the sheer terror in this man's eyes." He turned his head back, lowering himself as he further examined the body. "The skin beneath his eyes is slightly blue, indicating that he must have been suffocated," he elucidated, continuing with his monologue, "Still, no marks are left on his neck. So, the question here is, how did the murderer do it?" he turned his head again, directing the question at her.

Chloe only raised her eyebrows at his coroner-like performance. "Suffocated?" she asked doubtfully. Sparing herself the comment, she silently gestured to the huge hole in his abdomen.

"Yes," he replied, dead sure. Unperturbed by her mildly irritated glance, he turned his attention back to the body, now examining the lower part. "Splendid!" he exclaimed and went on before she could interrupt. "Look, how precisely the skin got cut open. And here, the lower ribs had been removed with a saw that was, well, too blunt for my liking, but I'm not here to complain, am I?" he questioned rhetorically, eyeing her briefly before turning back. "And the guts had been removed with-," he bent his head further down to properly see and Chloe averted her gaze in disgust, only looking back at him as he stated in admiration, "- what seems like a surgeon's subtlety."

"Someone's enthusiastic, huh?" the medical examiner commented, making the other two instantly look at him.

Breathing in to ease the light fright, caused by the man's unnoticed arrival, she stated dryly, "Guess it wasn't murder in affect."

The medical examiner shook his head, confirming, "No. It takes some time to open the rib cage and remove the intestines. According to the lack of blood, the murder wasn't done here either," he concluded.

"Of course not," Lucifer exclaimed, feeling a spot of bother that the detective didn't give him the attention he deserved.

The other two stared at him in bewilderment, silently prompting him to explain his thought.

"Well, this man clearly got tortured," he stated matter-of-factly. "And you'll need a private room for that, with covers so it doesn't get too bloody on the ground, and some place where the screams won't be heard," he elucidated with youthful enthusiasm.

The medical examiner looked at him, slightly irritated by his odd behaviour. "Well, do you have any expertise in forensics?"

"Of course not!" Lucifer countered snidely. "But I have an expertise in torture, so to say," he added, a smug smile on his lips.

"What kind of expertise?" the man questioned sceptically.

"I invented it," Lucifer answered nonchalantly, starting to grin as he saw the other man gaping at him in fear and mistrust.

"Alright, enough," Chloe interrupted the two, grabbing Lucifer by his arm and pulling him up. She glanced to the examiner, telling him that she wanted his report on her desk as quickly as possible, before she turned around, leaving the hall and dragging Lucifer away from the scene.

"My, my, detective," Lucifer stated as they came to a halt at the positioned cordon. "If you want to have me for yourself, you just need to say so. I'm ready to perform for you at any time you like," he teased, suggestively ogling her.

"I don't! And never will!" Chloe retorted quickly, turning her head to hide the light blush that started to rise on her cheeks again.

Lucifer chuckled lowly. "I got a very different impression last night." He grinned like a Cheshire cat as he saw her embarrassment. It amused him, to say the least, that he finally had something to have power over her, as doctor Linda once had put it so nicely. Not in a dominant, bad way of course. He simply enjoyed making her flustered with just one word or by sending her a knowing smile; that she, for once, wasn't the _I-have-everything-under-control_ detective, and maybe one day he could tickle some lust out of her as well. He smiled pleased at the thought, already looking forward to that day.

"Don't!" Chloe hissed, but halted, calling herself to order, before she went on in a more moderate tone, "ever mention that night again. Are we clear?" She was dead sure her cheeks were glowing by now, but she didn't care. It had been a very inappropriate moment of weakness that night, but she had to make sure now that he understood that their relationship was professional and that it would never be anything more but that.

Lucifer decided to end his ribbing for now. He slightly bent his head to indicate her that he had understood, knowing too well that she would only see it as a gesture of giving in. The corners of his lips curled up into a light smirk as he looked at her. She seemed calm, but the blush still visible on her cheeks and the mildly increased breathing made very clear that his courtship behaviour started to show its effect.

/-/

Chloe sat behind her desk, watching the program running that she'd fed with the fingerprints of her latest victim barely five minutes ago. To her surprise a window popped up on her screen, stating the name, address and criminal record of him, accompanied by a mugshot in the upper right corner.

She absent-mindedly tapped with her fingers onto the cold metal, puzzled about why a notorious burglar ended up disembowelled in a warehouse. She scrolled down the countless offences until one line leapt out at her. Something had gone wrong during his last housebreaking, ending in an elderly lady being shot. She nodded to herself. A crime victim meant loved ones being left behind, and one of them might have taken revenge, she concluded, and scribbled down her first hints onto a notepad, losing herself in thought.

"Your partner had been right," the medical examiner exclaimed, approaching her desk.

Chloe instantly snapped back to reality. "Civilian consultant," she quickly corrected him, straightening herself. As she got aware of him expectantly staring at her, she questioned, "With what had he been right?"

"The victim got tortured before his death," he answered, adding, "And as far as I can tell, it wasn't the removal of the intestines that put him over the edge."

"How?" Chloe questioned with a mixture of interest and puzzlement.

"Ever heard of succinylcholine?" he asked and continued explaining as he saw her shaking her head, "That's a drug for muscle relaxation, normally used during operations. It causes a complete muscle paralysis so the patient has to be ventilated to supply the necessary oxygen to their body. Our victim was full of it."

"So maybe it could have been an operation gone wrong?" Chloe addressed the question.

He only shook his head, commenting, "Then you also would've found pain medication in his system, plus something like adrenaline that indicates they'd tried to revive him. Someone wanted to see this man dead."

"And suffering! Tremendously," Lucifer remarked, suddenly appearing behind them. He stopped directly beside her chair, placing himself between his favourite detective and the medical guy, pushing his chest out a little in the process. He knew this other man wasn't a patch on him in the slightest, but still, he wanted to make sure that the other one understood the detective was _his_.

Unaware of what went on next to her, Chloe nodded to herself, putting two and two together. "So, we're looking for someone with a medical background, like a physician," she suggested, looking up at the others.

"Or a nurse," the medical examiner added with a smile that quickly faded as he saw Lucifer staring at him, feeling discomfort rising up.

"Or a medical examiner," Lucifer tossed in, a wicked smile spreading his lips as he saw the other man's eyes getting big in bewilderment.

* * *

 **A/N:** The end, for now. I hope you liked it. It's still a bit Chloe-centred, but don't worry, this will change in the later chapters ;) Feel free to press the button and leave a comment below. :D

Have a nice day!

:o)


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Hello my dears. First of all, I want to thank every one of you who put me and/or this story to their favourites or alert. I appreciate this very much. :D (Sorry, forgot to thank you in the last chapter) And also, thank you very much who reviewed this story. I know you're not much, but I really liked your reviews. I love getting reviews btw. :D

Then, sorry for the long chapter coming now, it got a little out of hand while writing it and I didn't want to split it up. Hope you don't mind.

 **Edit-1** : Some corrections made by Jay. Thank you :D  
And it is **now beta-read** by Daemon.

 **Edit-2:** I did some further corrections to make their thoughts more clear and I added a talk between Lucifer and Linda at the end because my dear reader Dante09 pointed out that Lucifer really went short. I hope you like that part as well :)

Anyway, here comes the chapter.

Enjoy!

* * *

Five days had passed.

Five damn frustrating days in which Chloe traced every lead that came up, only to turn out to be a dead end.

The elderly lady had been living alone with only one grandson left behind to mourn her death, and he was actually delighted about her early demise, leaving him to come into a fortune.

Her victim himself had been released from prison about 3 months prior with the rest of his time set on probation. He had lived in an eight square metre room inside a shelter for ex-cons, with the only two items counting as his property being a set of changing clothes and a toothbrush. His work consisted of packing the bought food of customers into paper bags at a local grocery shop, and after work, he didn't do anything else than watching TV or playing cards with his housemates.

Chloe couldn't believe that someone actually lived that way and caught herself thinking more than once that if she was in his position, she would've blown her brains out herself.

She'd started interviewing his housemates, then went on to his landlord and then his employer.

Nothing.

No one talked bad about him or showed any type of anger towards him, but nobody seemed to care about his death either.

On the fourth day, she even stood outside the grocery store, interviewing the customers, while Lucifer was inside flirting with the cashier and making moon-eyes at the cougars. She'd let him, even if his lack of professionalism displeased her to the core, but she was glad, somehow deep in her guts, that he'd accompanied her running around in this not so well-off neighbourhood, even with his continuing teasing.

Of course, she could protect herself. And he knew she could protect herself, he even said it during a little fight between them the night before.

o~o

' _Why am I even here? It's not that you'd need me anyway. I could be sitting in a hot tub right now with even hotter girls around me. But, no, I'm here with you, running around in the dirt and trying to find out who killed the bad guy who's not even missed by anyone_ ,' were his exact words shouted at her in anger.

How, the heck, was she supposed to know why he was still by her side? ' _Then go to your goddamned hot tub and leave me alone!_ " she'd shouted back at him.

And instead of storming off, he'd simply looked at her, bewildered, and then replied with a voice that sounded as if he'd care deeply about her, ' _I'm not leaving you alone while a torturer and killer is out there_.'

o~o

There were also no hints of her victim being related to someone with medical expertise in any way. And this must mean the murder of him was just coincidence.

Chloe frustratedly scrunched up the sheets of paper from her notepad and tossed them into the bin. "Bollocks!" she cried out, admitting defeat. If not some miraculous hint would suddenly appear at her footsteps, she'd have to close the case as unresolved. And she hated nothing more than that.

The miraculous hint appeared only ten minutes later.

In the form of her phone coming to life and vibrating vigorously on her desk.

She picked it up. "Yeah?"

" _Any progress with your case so far?_ " Dan questioned from the other end of the line.

"Guess what!" Chloe countered unnerved.

" _Like to merge yours with mine?_ " her ex stated in riddles.

Chloe raised her eyebrow in wonder. "Didn't know you had a case."

" _Have one now. And it looks a lot like yours._ "

Her whole body tensed, being on full alert. She quickly stood up, pressing the mobile phone closer to her ear. "Where are you?"

/-/

Chloe entered the flat at a quick pace, briefly looking into the other rooms occupied by some police officers as she headed towards the living room.

The first thing she'd noticed was the plastic foil covering the windows and the floor, masked off around the room with duct tape. There was no blood on the ground, however. Cautiously she stepped forward until she reached her Ex.

"What took you so long?" Dan greeted her with a smirk on his face.

"Caught every red light," Chloe answered and bend down to the victim. "What makes you believe this case here is related to mine?" she questioned, quickly examining the body; it seemed intact, at least from her point of view.

Dan shrugged his shoulders. "Just a feeling."

Chloe looked up, scepticism written all over her face. She knew her ex inside out: He never did anything just because of a feeling. "Alright, what is it?" She stood up, stepping back and folding her arms in front of her chest.

"A syringe had been found on the couch table, containing remains of that muscle relaxation drug," he simply answered.

"And is it also in his blood?" she asked, her interest coming to life.

Again, he shrugged his shoulders. "We can't tell."

"Why not?" Chloe asked doubtfully, thinking, ' _How long can such a test take anyway_."

"Because there is no blood left in his body to test it," Dan answered dryly.

Chloe's eyes widened in surprise. For a moment, her mind was blank, but then the thoughts started to run around, forming connections and making speculations: The same muscle relaxation drug found near the victim did indeed point towards the same murderer, but the method differed completely. And if her victim had been murdered by someone for the sheer joy of torture, then how did a bloodless body add up to that? She had not the slightest clue and knew there was currently only one person she could ask. The only person she would have preferred to avoid actually since the fight, but the case had higher priority than her chipped ego.

Reluctantly she took out her mobile, gesturing to her ex that she'd be back right away before turning around and heading for the exit door.

It rang twice before she heard the line connect and the familiar voice resounded in her ear.

' _Hello detective, what can I help you with? Or are you calling because you're longing for me?_ '

She literally heard his smug smile at the other end of the line and wanted nothing more than to push her hand through the speaker and slap that grin right out of his face. Since that night, his teasing had increased tremendously. If it were only words, she surely could have handled it, but he tossed them in with sneaking looks and knowing smiles, and it had really gotten on her nerves. She couldn't concentrate as much as she wanted to when he was around, and that was bugging her. She sighed, swallowing her anger, and answered in a polite tone, "I just have a question and need your," she halted, looking for a different word she could replace the one with that was on the tip of her tongue. Unfortunately, she found none and so she continued, emphasising it, "expertise."

' _I'm all ear_ ,' he answered, already being on fire.

Chloe took another breath, looking for the right words before she responded, back into work-mode, "Is there a way of torturing someone without leaving any visible signs, but taking all the blood?" Her voice trailed off in scepticism. Even the question itself sounded incredulous to her.

' _Where are you? I'm coming over right away,'_ he answered delightedly.

Had there been a superlative of 'full of enthusiasm', Chloe was dead sure his picture would have been found right next to the word in the dictionary. She quickly gave him the address, ended the call and headed back to the room.

Surprisingly it didn't take long for Lucifer to arrive at the crime scene and within a few seconds, he entered the living room as well. His mood lightened up even more as he got sight of his favourite human on earth. "Detective Decker," he greeted her joyfully. Eyeing behind her, he added snidely, "Detective Douche."

Chloe rolled her eyes, suppressing the smirk that wanted to spread her lips and pointing towards the body. "There is the victim. Get down to work," she regretted the sentence as soon as it left her mouth.

"Oh I'd love to get down to work, but rather on you than on a dead man," he countered leering at her. Receiving her scowl, he smiled widely, satisfied that his teasing drew her out so quickly. "Well, well, what have we got?" he commented quietly, rather to himself than anyone else, as he looked at the victim.

"Apparently the same muscle relaxation drug had been used on him," Dan stated, feeling addressed at.

"Thanks, Detective, I already made that connection on my own," Lucifer remarked, not taking his eyes off of the body.

Chloe's eyebrow shot upwards. "How?" she asked bewildered.

"Well, you are obviously thinking that this victim is connected to our case. You asked me about a torture technique, so you assume he got tortured as well, and we all can clearly see that this case differs from the one with the removed guts. I'm not even talking about the different location here. So, the only conformity that's left is the drug," he concluded, mentally clapping his own shoulder. Working with the detective so closely finally began to pay off for him.

He turned his attention back to the body, starting to examine it. "Where are you, little hole?" he stated under his breath, looking at the victims head, neck and arms in puzzlement.

"What are you looking for?" Chloe questioned squatting down next to him.

"The blood must have left the body somehow, right?" he replied, waiting for her nod to continue. "I'm looking for a puncture site, a hole in the skin." He bent down a little more, giving the dead body all his attention. "Aha!" he suddenly shouted out, making her jump with fright.

"You've found them?"

"No!" Lucifer negated. "But these here are binding marks," he held up the wrist to show them before he let it drop back to the floor with a loud thud. He looked up, seeing the ceiling fan right above him, and smirked wickedly. "The murderer hung this man," he remarked, using both arms to demonstrate, holding them together above his head. "And blood runs down," he concluded, bending down again. Removing the victim's shoes and socks, he shouted out in delight, "Found the puncture mark. Right at his ankle vein." He stood up again, turning towards the detectives. "So far, I prefer the first murder. Don't get me wrong, I like thinking about this man being hung up by his arms and having to watch himself bleeding to death, but I don't understand, why such a simple and rather quick torture? If this counts as torture, anyhow," he ended his monologue, a disappointed tone in his voice.

"Wow!" Dan stated impressed. "You'd make quite a good investigator."

Lucifer smiled smugly at the flattery. "I know, right? Your lieutenant should really give me a permanent position," he remarked, turning his head to Chloe as he added with a sparkle in his eyes, decreasing the space between their faces with every word, "Sticking together with you till eternity, wouldn't that be fun?"

"God no! I'd rather go to hell," she countered, but quickly regretted her words as she saw hurt flashing up in his eyes. ' _Damn! Get a grip_ ,' she mentally scolded herself, smiling apologetically at him.

Lucifer straightened himself. Her words had stung him right through his heart, if he had one, that is. It vexed him that his attempts to lighten up her mood and get her back into the friendly banter between them recently changed to the opposite on every occasion. Something must be wrong with her, but he couldn't make out what it was. He squinted his eyes a little as he retorted, "Can you please let my father out of this?" He had barely ended his sentence as a young police officer stepped into the room.

"Detective, there is a woman outside with a child, saying that she's his wife," the officer informed the group.

Chloe quickly nodded at her, and turned back to Lucifer, gesturing him to follow her, before she left the room.

/-/

"Is he really dead?" the woman questioned, tears in her eyes, holding tight onto the arm of her six-year-old daughter as if it was a lifeline.

"I fear so," Chloe said full of sympathy. She guided her into the child's room, the most private area at the moment. She helped her sit down on the bed, gently caressing her arm to show her support. "When did you last see your husband?"

"Two days ago," she answered, sobbing loudly. "I went to a woman's centre with my daughter, but decided to come back this morning."

Those words made Chloe prick up her ears. "Woman's centre? Did he get violent towards you?" she asked, back into police officer mode.

The woman looked down onto her hands. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes and dropped down onto her fingers as she slightly nodded. "He wasn't always like this. It's just since he's unemployed, he has a rough time. He's really loving and caring," she added but sounded as if she didn't believe her own words.

Chloe doubted it as well, making out the light remains of a blue eye on the woman's face, she asked, "So caring that he's beating you?" She didn't wait for the bereaved woman to reply. "Did he also hit the child?" She questioned and felt her own mother instincts kick in as she looked at the little girl playing on her bracelet.

The woman looked up, dodging the question as she answered, "He always said we were his own blood. And he had the right to do to us whatever he wants."

She nodded her understanding. "Can you go back to the woman's centre? I'm afraid you won't be allowed to stay here."

"Yes," the woman answered, asking if she could leave her daughter with her, while she went and packed some things.

Chloe agreed instantly, watching her getting up from the bed and leaving the room before she turned her attention to the little girl. "That's a very pretty bracelet you have there."

The little girl smiled brightly. "It's a friendship bracelet."

"Really, who did you get it from?" She asked, smiling warmly.

"A friend," the girl answered matter of factly.

It didn't take long and the woman reappeared in the room again. Chloe scribbled down the address of the centre into her notepad and gave the woman one of her calling cards before she ordered a police officer to drive them.

As the two were gone, she turned her attention to Lucifer, who had up to now remained standing silently in the door frame.

Chloe was perplexed as she got aware of the smile on his face. It didn't reach his eyes, though, and she knew she had to hold herself at fault for that. "What is it?" she asked in a friendly manner, indirectly ordering him to voice his thoughts.

"We're not looking for a torturer. We're looking for a punisher!" he explained smugly. His smile increased as he felt the detective's attention fixed on him. He could never be mad at her for long, no matter what she did. Not with those big blue eyes staring at him, he thought to himself.

"What makes you think that?" she asked puzzled, taking a step towards him so they wouldn't be overheard by anyone else.

Lucifer sighed, delighted, lowering his voice to make it more suspenseful, "The first one, a notorious burglar with even a dead on his account, got tortured to death with his guts being removed. Some of the very important parts of a human's body, if you ask me. The second one, a basher with a sick perception of possession, thinking that his blood gives him the right to hit his family, gets his blood removed. Can you follow me?" he asked rhetorically. "Burglar steals important things, gets an important thing stolen from him. Basher gets robbed of the only thing that he thinks gives him power over his family. Does this ring a bell? We're looking for someone who takes the law into his own hands. Someone who decides to punish them right here and now. Someone with expertise to do so. Someone -"

Chloe cut him off. "You sound like a groupie!" she asserted with an annoyed glare directed at him.

Lucifer gaped in disgust. "I'm not a groupie!" he denied vehemently. "I just see potential here! Lots and lots of potential for improvements. I'm impressed, that's all," he clarified, staring back at her bewildered. He didn't know what to think of that. Out of all words on this planet, she had to compare him to some stupid teenage girls that follow their favourite bands through the country in hope of one day getting laid. These humans were insecure and made themselves completely dependent on someone else by their free choice. He was none of that! How could she even use him and that word in the same sentence? He really needed to know why she acted so strange lately. Luckily, he knew exactly the right person for that matter.

/-/

"But please be aware, I only have half an hour, Lucifer. I was actually about to head home just now," Linda stated as she unlocked the door to her practice, letting herself and Lucifer into the room.

"Thank you so much, my dear," he replied with a warm smile, pleased about his decision to have turned to her for consultation right away, rather than waiting it out like last time. He walked to the couch, taking a seat and grabbing some of the gummy bears that were inside a bowl on the little table, putting them into his mouth and chewing quickly. He hadn't eaten yet and needed the sugar rush.

Linda sat down on her chair, placing her bag next to her and straightening her clothes before she looked attentively at her patient. "Alright, what urgent issue can I help you with?" she questioned using the exact words he had used to head her off.

"It's about the detective, of course!" he stated matter of factly. Considering the fact that the last three sessions had been revolved only around her, she should have known that right away, he thought. "She's acting strange towards me," he added, a tinge of the sorrow he felt about that resounded through his voice.

His therapist nodded understandingly, replying with a soft voice, "Alright. And how is she acting strange?"

Lucifer took a deep breath, recalling the moments before he specified, "She picks up fights with me, snaps at me and takes everything I say the wrong way."

She looked at him puzzled. "And since when does she do this?"

"It started the day we found a body that was tortured to death," he answered, adding,"We have two of them by now."

Linda swallowed at the little information about the bodies. Trying to remain a calm voice, she questioned further, "Did something happen right before you found the first body?"

"No," he answered, clueless, but then the memory shot back into his mind and he corrected himself, a disgruntled frown between his eyes,"Actually yes. Normally when a new case comes up, she phones me right away, but this time she didn't. I only knew of it, because, that nice young police officer, whose name I always forget, informed me about it."

"Well, usually there is a reason someone else acts strangely towards us, and this mostly happens when we do something wrong, even when we don't see it as such," she explained to him calmly. "So, is there something you might have done to her, Lucifer?"

"No!" he countered vehemently, elongating the word. "I did nothing to her, I didn't even -," he stopped abruptly as a realisation struck him. "Oh, right!" he exclaimed, a pleased smile settling down onto his lips. "She wanted to have sex with me, and I denied." His smile widened even further as he drew his own conclusions. "I left her completely unsatisfied and that bothers her."

"Wait, what?" Linda tossed in, totally flabbergasted.

He ignored her completely as his mind spun further, making him grin like a loon. "I just need to sleep with her and everything is back to normal. Thank you, doctor, you've been a great help." He stood up and turned around, about to leave.

"Stop, stop, Lucifer!" Linda's calls finally filtered down to him and he turned back to her. "Can you please sit back down, we need to discuss that further."

"What else is there to discuss?" he questioned her puzzled. "I acted against my own code of conduct: Never leave a woman unsatisfied. I just need to change that, and the detective and I are back on track."

"No!" Linda disagreed, shaking her hands to support her objection. "First of all, when did she want to sleep with you?"

"Well, that night before the first murder," he answered, explaining a little further, "She came to me, totally drunk because her ex had dumped her and wanted to sleep with me. But I denied. Which I have no idea of why I did it, by the way." He actually hadn't intended on saying anything more, but as he saw the wide open eyes of his therapist, he couldn't help adding, "I did a little teasing since then to lighten up her mood about it because I kinda felt like she was dissociating herself from me."

"Wow!" Linda exclaimed. That was a lot of information she would have to process in the remaining 15 minutes, and she mentally said goodbye to her private night with her favourite TV show, knowing very well that this would take longer. "Alright, so first I want to say that I really appreciate that you didn't take advantage of her in such a vulnerable state of hers."

"Thank you," Lucifer replied, smiling at the praise. "But what do you mean with 'vulnerable state'? She was drunk, not hurt."

Linda took a deep breath, mentally clutching her head. "Lucifer," she pronounced his name as if she was talking to a five-year-old. "She might not have been visibly hurt, but an emotional hurt can get much deeper than any visible wound can go. Last time I spoke to her, she told me she wanted to save her marriage, and now you tell me that her ex had 'dumped her'. This sort of hurt can leave deep wounds behind." As she saw him opening his mouth, she quickly raised her hand to shush him. "Metaphorically speaking. Like, like," she was fishing for a reference he might understand better. "Like when your father cast you out of heaven, just after one simple mistake of yours."

"Oh," Lucifer interjected, starting to understand what Linda was telling him.

"Detective Decker came to you in a very vulnerable state. You've seen her naked, metaphorically speaking."

"And literally," he interposed, adding with a grin that spread his lips even further, "Very literally."

"OK," she commented, quickly shrugging that part off of her mind to not lose track of her own thoughts. "And since then you were teasing her about it, right?" Seeing his clear nod, she went on, "And where did you tease her? At work? In front of her colleagues?"

"Where else?" Lucifer stated matter of factly. "It's not like we have a lot of extra time to spend since she is that occupied with the case."

"Wow!" she exclaimed, sighing deeply. "Lucifer, every time you tease her, you let her relive that moment again when she was so vulnerable. And that in front of her colleagues. You once pointed out to me that her colleagues feel threatened by her and therefore cut her at every occasion possible, and now you're giving them the fuel to hurt her even more? No wonder she snaps at you or avoids you."

A silent 'Oh' appeared on his lips as he listened to her words, seeing completely sense now.

"You're her partner, Lucifer, you should have her back and not throw her to the sharks. It's as if everyone would do nothing but pointing out the mistake you made to earn your father's grudge, over and over again, can you imagine how that feels?" she ranted on, getting right into her stride.

"I understood you the first time, doctor," he affirmed, raising his hands to underline that she didn't need to bring up another daddy reference. "So, what do you suggest to me? Shall I go to her and apologise?"

"No!" Linda denied quickly. "That would mean you once again remind her of that night. Just simply let her be. Don't mention it at all."

"No more teasing about that topic?" he asked, wanting to have that one clear.

Linda nodded eagerly. "At least not in front of her colleagues or anyone else. You know, Lucifer, that she came to you, out of all people she knows, means she really trusts you. A lot. So, just be there for her; be her partner."

Lucifer smiled, delighted at that. "Alright. I'll be the best partner she can have," he pointed out, standing up and thanking the doctor once again.

* * *

 **A/N:** That's it. I hope you liked it. Please leave a comment below. As some of you can see, in the new version I added the talk between Lucifer and Linda completely. Hope you liked that as well, if not, please let me know :D

Have a nice day!

:o)


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Dear readers, actually I wanted to end the whole "prologue" in this chapter, so the actual interesting stuff could come in chapter 5, but then this chapter would have 8000 words and therefore I decided to split them up. I'll upload them in shorter intervals. Sorry for that. Should really stop writing so much. :/ Anyway, thank you all for reading and reviewing and putting it into your favourites / follows. I hope you can bear that the real interesting stuff is much later.

To my dear reviewers: **Lisa1972** , **Crystalyna du Starrvan** and **imke14**. **Thank you so much for your reviews** , I appreciated them a lot! I received them in my email-box. Unfortunately, I can't reply to them and thank you personally (somehow it's not working). Also, your reviews don't appear in the review section, despite them being counted. Don't know what FFN is up to lately. I just know I'm not the only one with these problems and hope they'll fix that soon.

 **Edit 1:** This chapter now is **beta-read**. By Jay and Daemon. Thank you so much :D

 **Edit 2:** I've made some additional lines here and there. But just smaller changes.

Enjoy!

* * *

Once again, Chloe sat at her desk, looking through the files of currently released prisoners with medical background or knowledge. The list wasn't long. Two had alibis for at least one of the murders. One had moved to Canada right after release and one could be excluded since he'd worn an electronic tag that confirmed he wasn't anywhere near the crime scenes at the time of the crimes.

It really was frustrating for her. There was a murderer on the loose, a serial killer as it pointed out, probably already looking for his next victim, and all tracks she'd followed led to nothing.

She'd looked at the victims' backgrounds, but both couldn't be any more different: family, living conditions, work, friends; nothing in their life made a connection. They were literally complete strangers to each other. But there had to be a connection somehow, either between them or to the killer.

She had to find the missing link!

Chloe thought about the criminal record list of the police, after all, he had to look somewhere for his victims, but she quickly dismissed the idea; the second victim never got arrested because of domestic violence.

Slowly, her frustration turned into desperation. Something was missed by her, she felt it in her guts. Something major that she forgot to take into consideration. She searched in the back of her head, recalling every moment since they found the first victim.

The hands on the clock made a full rotation before she looked up again, now feeling a pain piercing through her brain as if someone had clamped her head into a vice.

She shut down the computer, deciding to call it a day. Right now, this didn't take her any further. She needed fresh air, a change of surroundings, maybe even sleep. It was better to look at the facts again with a fresh mind, she thought and stood up, grabbing her jacket and keys and leaving the department.

/-/

How she'd ended up here of all places, she didn't know. She gripped her wheel, already feeling the exhaustion of the day and decided this place was as good as any other. She exited the car, heading for the LUX entrance.

There was a long line of people waiting to get in and for a moment Chloe considered to walk to the end and queue up as a deep voice called her name, "Detective Decker."

She glanced towards the voice and got sight of a bouncer, beckoning her over.

Chloe walked up to him. Without further explanation, he stepped aside, making room for her to enter and wishing her a nice evening. The little girl inside her squealed, feeling like a VIP, and she inhaled deeply to let the adult in her take over again.

It was dark inside the club and the music played a deafening sound, very unusual for the normally decent ambience. Quickly, she made out why: A new band was playing on the stage, and Chloe thought to herself that this must be one of the several quid pro quos of Lucifer. She walked down the stairs, looking for the man in question, but he was nowhere to be found. A stream of disappointment started to arise in her stomach and Chloe quickly made her way to the bar, intending to numb that feeling with a drink before it could get the better of her. She raised her hand, ordering a gin and tonic.

The bartender mixed her one, handed it over with a smile and disappeared again to the other end.

Chloe was about to take her first sip, as a familiar voice resounded next to her ear, so close, that his breath tickled her skin.

"Hello Detective, what about the no-drinking-policy?" Lucifer questioned charmingly.

She quickly suppressed the smile that started to spread her lips, ignoring the tingle in her belly his voice had caused. If she'd known that this little incidence would make her guard crumble that much, she'd never have turned up on his door in the first place that night. Composing herself, she put on a stern expression and turned her head to face him, commenting nonchalantly, "I'm off duty."

"Uh-huh," he replied, generously allowing his own smile to settle down on his face as he took a seat next to her. "And what about the case?" he questioned, reducing the space between them that had barely existed the moment before.

Chloe shook her head, feeling the frustration rising up again at the reminder. She set the glass to her lips and gulped down half of its content.

"There, there, detective. No reason to stick the head in the sand," Lucifer said soothingly.

"What?" Chloe questioned loudly. The noise of the songs playing in the background made it almost impossible to understand his words, spoken at only a foot distance.

He chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. "Come on. We'll go somewhere private," he half shouted into her ear.

Chloe leant back, eyeing him suspiciously. "If you think you can get me into your bed, forget it."

"I won't," Lucifer replied, his expression revealing that he was being serious. He still had the consultation with Linda in his mind and wanted to stick up to his promise. At least down here.

Chloe's eyebrows popped up. Normally he wouldn't let any opportunity pass to try it or say something nasty. Still, she hesitated, thinking there must be a catch.

"I just want a decent talk with you without having to shout," he explained, standing up from his barstool.

Chloe shrugged her shoulders. He was right, it was too loud to talk. So, what could she lose, she thought to herself. "Alright," she agreed and followed him out.

/-/

The door opened to his apartment and Chloe made a bee-line to the sofa, letting herself drop down onto it. The soft material easily gave way under her pressure and she remembered the comfort she'd felt that day, when she was spread out on it snuggled up to his warm chest. She shook her head quickly, pushing the memories back to the back of her mind. She couldn't remember anymore what happened after she'd passed out on the sofa and part of her was relieved at that. The other part, however, stiffened at the thought. Only adding up to the frustration of the day she still felt in her bones, making her tense even more.

Lucifer went to his bar, taking two glasses and the whisky bottle from the counter before he headed for the chair opposite to her. Taking place, he poured them each a drink, shoving one glass towards the detective and placing the bottle in the middle of the table. He took his own glass into his hand, lightly swaying the liquid, eyeing the auburn colour and inhaling its noble scent before he took a sip, devouring the taste.

Chloe took her glass and without hesitation gulped it down in one go, feeling the alcohol burning down her throat and heating up her stomach. She grabbed the bottle, pouring herself a second before she allowed herself to relax against the backrest.

Lucifer was tickled at her behaviour, feeling relieved that she at least started to loosen up again. "No reason to drink in anger," he commented, a light smile on his lips. "Not that I have something against anger-drinking. Although, I'd think anger-sex would be more suitable for that issue," he teased, observing her rolling her eyes at his remark. "I'm available for that, by the way, and my bed is right over there," he pointed towards the direction, not taking his eyes off of her as he seductively sipped from his glass.

"Stop it!" Chloe hissed, miffed that he, as so often, didn't let this opportunity pass. But on the other hand, he wouldn't be Lucifer if he did, she thought to herself.

Lucifer leant back, grinning cheerfully. "Just an offer, my dear detective."

"I'm not sleeping with you, Lucifer. No matter what," she made clear, taking another big gulp.

"I got that already," he reassured her, adding, "I just don't like seeing you so distressed."

Chloe chuckled, lightly shaking her head and emptying her glass in one go. "And you think your _offer_ can cheer me up?" she emphasised the word.

"Don't know. Did it?" he questioned, watching her pouring herself another one. One thing was certain: That woman could drink when she was angry.

Chloe shook her head in denial. Seeing him smirking at her, she couldn't help her smile coming to life as well.

Lucifer sighed pleased as he saw her reaction, emptying his glass. "So, Detective, tell me. Any news so far about the victims?" He bent forward, grabbing the bottle and pouring himself a second drink.

"Nothing," she answered briefly.

He looked at her, a hint of scepticism washing over his face. "Not the slightest connection between them?"

"Nope," she popped the 'p', recalling,"The first was single, the second had a family. They had different living areas, different friends, different neighbourhoods. One was working, the other was not. One was a criminal, the other was not. They didn't pass each other's way in the past. The second victim's wife also didn't know the first victim," she trailed off, eyeing the liquid in her hand. Normally she would have preferred some decent wine, but right now she didn't care about the type of alcohol as long as it was available and dulling her feelings. Taking another big gulp, she commented, "This is so frustrating. I'm missing out on something, I feel it."

"I'd still go for that medical examiner," Lucifer remarked, half-jokingly.

Chloe nodded, emptying her drink. She still felt the alcohol burning down her throat as she grabbed the bottle again, refilling the glass. "I did," she commented quietly.

Lucifer stared at her, his feelings a mixture of disbelief and curiosity. "You're joking?"

She shook her head. "Nope! He has alibis on both occasions. I even checked the other medical examiners. Nothing as well. Then I went for released prisoners with medical background or knowledge. Nada!" she sipped on her glass, starting to feel the effects of the drinks in her system.

Lucifer grinned smugly at her, taking another sip as well. "So, you did listen to me."

"After all, you're helping me to get justice. It's just logical to take your ideas into consideration as well," she explained, swaying the liquid in her hand. The headache started to appear again, sending thousands of little sharp blades through her flesh. She placed the glass on the table, massaging her forehead and temples, trying to ease off the pain.

"Oh, I don't care about the victims," he corrected her. "I just want to know why the second one got off so easily." He emptied his drink, putting his glass down and standing up.

"Just as I thought," Chloe remarked. The pain had a sickening effect on her and she closed her eyes, trying to stop the room from spinning. "What are you doing?" she asked suspiciously, suddenly feeling his hands at her temples, massaging the spots. Still, she didn't push him away.

"Don't worry, Detective. I'm just helping you with your headache," he replied, moving his hands to the back of her head and massaging the scalp.

She relaxed into his touch, already feeling the pain easing off. "I mean it, Lucifer. Don't even think of trying to get me into your bed," she warned as she let her head rest against his belly, relishing the tender care to the fullest.

Lucifer smiled at her contradicting words and behaviour. ' _Cute little human_ ,' he thought, moving his hands down to her neck and massaging the muscles. "I already told you I won't," he half-whispered, loosening all the little knots of tension.

She felt like pudding in his hands and a soft moan escaped her throat as he moved his hand around her shoulders. "Want me to stop?" he questioned, not meaning it at all.

Chloe suppressed the ' _God, no!_ ' that was on the tip of her tongue, knowing all too well that this would definitely cause him to stop working his magical fingers across her back. Instead, she lightly shook her head, her eyes still closed as she leant further into his touch, whispering, "Don't stop."

* * *

 **A/N:** That's it for today. I hope you liked it. Please leave a comment below. Maybe FFN let them appear now.

Have a nice day!

:o)


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Hello my dear readers. Thank you all so much who liked or is following this story so far. I'm glad you all enjoy it. :D

I didn't know whether to turn the story into M because of some violent descriptions coming here. I refrain from doing so since I made some corrections. For those of you with a strong imagination and not so strong stomach please just skip the part with the crime scene. And if anyone of you still thinks this should be rated as M please let me know. For the rest, read on your own risk ;)

Then to **Jay: THANK YOU** so much for pointing out the mistakes in the last chapters. I did less than I expected. And thank you of course for your reviews. I'm glad you like the story. Thanks that you liked my torture techniques so far, I hope you like the next one as well. :D To your questions: 1) I didn't know the fact that it had to be at least 3 deaths to count as serial killer, thanks for pointing that out. Well, now they'll officially find the third one ;) 2) Yes, yes, I know. I let it slowly lead up to, as you named it. Sorry for that. Like I said in the previous chapter. I actually wanted to reach the interesting part in this chapter (aka when the stuff with the summary starts) but I'm writing waaaaaayyyyy too much. 3) Thanks for the "great job". I appreciate that :D I hope you can bear with me a little longer. The highlight (where the summary points to) will now start between the 7th and 8th chapter.

 **Edit** : This chapter is now **beta-read, thanks to Daemon**. Any remaining mistakes are my own. :)

To the other reviewers I couldn't send a personal message to: Thank you for your review :D I'm glad you all enjoy the story.

Here comes the next chapter. (sorry for the length)

Enjoy!

* * *

Slowly Chloe opened her eyes, blinking several times and rubbing with the fingers across her lids to remove the sleepy dust. Slightly disoriented, she grabbed the blanket around her, looking at it.

Black satin.

"God! Not again," she groaned in frustration, clutching her head.

"Could you please stop mentioning my father? You're ruining the moment," Lucifer scolded her. He sat in the chair next to the bed, wrapped in a bathrobe, a glass of whisky in his hand.

Chloe glanced over at him. "What moment?!" she replied flabbergasted, letting her head drop back onto the pillow. "We didn't have sex." She quickly raised the blanket to reconfirm that she still was wearing her clothes. A low sigh of relief escaped her as she spotted them.

A light smirk appeared at the corners of his lips, but not strong enough to raise into a full smile as he responded, "Unfortunately not. And could you please not let that little detail slip to anyone?" As she gazed at him puzzled, he explained in more detail, "I had you twice in my bed without the sex. You're giving me a bad reputation."

"Oh, you poor boy!" she stated sarcastically, rubbing her face to get fully awake.

Without comment he stood up, grabbing a glass of water and painkillers from the cupboard and placing them on the bed table, grinning with delight as she took both without complaining.

"How come that you never get a hangover?" she questioned after swallowing the pill.

"'Cause I'm the devil!" he replied matter-of-factly, his grin turning into a smug smile. "Your little mortal flaws don't work on me."

Chloe rolled her eyes. Why couldn't he just for once let that stupid immortal-stuff drop?

A phone started to vibrate and she quickly looked around, trying to find it.

Lucifer was faster, picking it up from the floor, he held it towards her.

She grabbed it and answered the call, "Decker." She pressed the little device close to her ear as she listened attentively to the voice on the other end of the line. "Wait. What?" She sat up, being all ears.

Lucifer leant against the wall, cocking his ears as well.

"Alright. I'm coming," she said and ended the call.

"What is it?" Lucifer questioned curiously.

Chloe got out of bed. "They found a body. Again. I need to get there ASAP."

"Well, what are you waiting for. Under the shower with you, chop-chop," he ordered, feeling a tingle of the upcoming excitement already settle down in his belly.

Chloe looked at him, baffled. "I think I should use mine at home."

"Bollocks!" he contradicted, shrugging it off with a movement of his hand. "We don't have time for that. Use mine!"

"I'm not using your shower," Chloe rejected insistently. "You could suddenly come inside or watch me through some kind of camera." She stopped, not wanting her thoughts to spin that idea further.

"Detective!" Lucifer shouted appalled at her accusation. "I'm the devil, not a perv!" He went to his closet, taking out a towel and handing it to her. "As much as I like the thought of you and me under my shower doing some naughty stuff, we don't have time for that. A body is waiting for us. Now go, or I'll carry you." The look on his face made clear that he was serious.

Chloe complied, grabbing the towel and disappearing in the bathroom.

/-/

Dan waited impatiently for her at the entry of the big toy store. Finally, he made out her car, stopping at a little distance. His smile vanished as he got sight of a certain front-seat passenger exiting as well. "Are you two inseparable now?" he asked her sardonically as she got within earshot.

Chloe only rolled her eyes at his immature remark.

He sized her up, recognising the clothes she had worn the day before, he couldn't help commenting, "Didn't have time to change?"

She exhaled, shaking her head and staring at him as if her eyes wanted to say, ' _Don't give me that!_ ' She swallowed her anger. This wasn't the time nor the place and she'd move heaven and hell to not let her private life interfere with her work. She turned around, briefly glancing across the place and spotting an ambulance vehicle standing right next to a fire engine. "Why are they here?" She pointed towards them.

"The victim is still alive," Dan explained, ignoring the elated look Lucifer gave him at his words.

Chloe stared at her ex, her eyes wide in bewilderment. "Then why did you call me?"

"Because, as far as it looks, he won't be any more in a couple of minutes," Dan answered, starting to walk. He led them into the building and towards the puppet section where the crime scene was.

There was a man impaled on wires in the middle of the room, forming an X. The wires were coming out of the spots where his feet and hands used to be. Long cuts along the skin, as well as the sunken flesh, made clear that his arm and leg bones were gone. His eyes had been removed, leaving only two blood-dripping empty holes. He was still breathing, panting heavily due to the shock, but not able to speak since his tongue was missing as well.

One paramedic was at his side, giving him pain medication via IV, while another one stood a little behind, discussing with two firefighters on how to cut him free without causing too much pain or trauma to the body.

Chloe looked down at the man. He was naked and the shaft of his penis had been cut open lengthwise. The flesh had been sewed onto the lower part of his abdomen. It reminded her of a documentation she once watched about the subincision Australian Aborigines did when they entered manhood. A shiver went down her spine, she couldn't even imagine what pain this man must have endured.

Lucifer stood in front of the victim. His eyes sparkled and he carried a big cheeky grin on his face.

Chloe was sure that only his ears stopped him from grinning in full circle. She stepped to his side.

Full of enthusiasm he stated, "I just got an erection."

Chloe choked at his words. She turned towards him, gaping appalled and slightly flustered about the information that was definitely too much for her ears. "Lucifer! The victim can still hear you."

"Please!" he laughed it off. "He's dying anyway."

The man's pants increased until he gasped for breath. Five sharp inhales were hearable before he stopped completely. The second paramedic rushed to his side, but they couldn't do much. CPR wasn't possible from his position and the wires inside of him prevented them from using the defibrillator. They looked towards Chloe and she quickly shook her head, silently telling them not to try. They checked his pulse; feeling nothing, they pronounced him dead.

"See! As I said," Lucifer stated, completely unperturbed by what they just witnessed.

Chloe frowned at him in anger and turned around, leaving the scene.

She stepped out into the parking lot, taking several deep breaths. No matter how many people she'd already watched dying during her work, this was something she'd never get used to.

Lucifer appeared next to her, eyeing her with concern. "You alright?"

"Yeah," she answered briefly, but her face revealed that she was not.

Footsteps resounded behind them, coming closer. "They're cutting him loose now," Dan informed them.

"Who found him?" Chloe asked, turning around.

"The deputy general manager of the toy store," he answered, gesturing her to follow.

/-/

They went inside a small office. Behind a desk sat a woman in her forties, her slightly shaking hands clasped around a cup of coffee.

"This is Marge Cooper, the deputy general manager," Dan introduced her to Chloe. "She found him half an hour ago."

Chloe stepped forward, taking place on the chair next to her to be at eye level. "Hello, Mrs Cooper. I'm Detective Decker. Did you know the victim?" she questioned, coming directly to the point.

The woman looked up, using one hand to brush her long black curls out of her face. "Is he dead?" she counter-questioned, her voice shaky and sad.

"Yes," Chloe confirmed, repeating, "Did you know him?"

Mrs Cooper nodded. "His name is -," she stopped, correcting herself, "was Jeff Murray. He worked for us in the packaging department. He is always first here." She stopped again, realising her mistake. Tears welled up in her eyes and Chloe grabbed a tissue out of the box placed on the desk, handing it over. She blew her nose, continuing. "His day starts at 6.30 and mine usually at 7. Only today I was here so early. So, I wasn't concerned as the doors weren't unlocked. It was only five minutes after half past six and I thought he was just being late. I went inside the building, and then I, I," she trailed off, her voice shaking. She grabbed another tissue, wiping away her tears.

"I know this must have been very traumatic for you," Chloe soothed her.

"He was always so nice. He even took care of my daughter sometimes when I had her over and was too busy. How could someone do this to him?" she questioned confused and appalled.

"That's what we're trying to find out," Chloe assured her.

Another officer came into the room, handing a tablet PC to Dan. He looked at it, his expression turning several shades darker. "Ma'am, do you run backup checks for your employees?" he questioned, making Chloe look up at him, listening attentively.

"Of course! We're a toy store. The safety of our customers is our highest priority," Mrs Cooper replied perplexed.

Dan sighed. He knew all too well that civilians could only access the criminal record of their employees within their federal state. "He is listed as a child molester and rapist in the state of New York, ma'am," he informed her objectively.

Mrs Cooper paled and looked up at him with wide blank eyes. "What?" she asked flabbergasted.

Chloe stared at him as well before quickly turning back to the woman. "Did your daughter ever mention something like feeling uncomfortable around him?" she asked, wrapping up the question that was actually on her mind.

Mrs Cooper didn't answer her. Her mind was blank and she paled even more, leaving her normally umber shining skin colour in a driftwood tone. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hands in shock. "Oh god!" she stated again in horror.

"God has nothing to do with this," Lucifer mentioned, but was quickly hushed by Chloe.

"Ma'am, what's wrong?" She questioned, trying to calm the other woman down.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god!" Mrs Cooper exclaimed over and over again.

"Could you please stop calling his name?!" he ordered, annoyed.

Chloe looked up at him, angry. "Lucifer!" she hissed, calling him to order. Turning back to the woman, she repeated calmly, "Ma'am, what is wrong?"

The wheels turned rapidly in her mind as Mrs Cooper made the connections. "That... but... did he... oh my god," she talked in riddles.

"Here we go again!" Lucifer shook his head at her words.

The woman turned to Chloe, fresh tears running freely down her cheeks. "I need to see my daughter. Now!" she insisted and the detective agreed, leading her down to her car.

/-/

Mrs Cooper knocked frantically on the door. The two minutes that had passed until the door was opened felt like an eternity for her.

"Hello Marge, did you forget something?" a young woman asked confused, stepping away and letting her inside. She watched her rushing directly to her daughter who sat by the couch table colouring in a book, falling around her neck, crying, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." The young woman turned around, frowning in confusion. Her expression quickly changed to curiosity as she eyed Chloe and Lucifer. "And you are?"

"Detective Decker and civilian consultant Morningstar," Chloe introduced them.

"Hi, I'm Lex. Come in," she replied with a smile, stepping aside and letting them in.

Chloe looked at her, a strange feeling started to tingle her guts, but she couldn't make out what it was. "Are you the babysitter?"

"Oh, no! Marge, Mrs Cooper, brings her daughter to me every morning. Aimée's school doesn't start before eight and it lies directly on my way to uni, so I'll take her there," she answered, walking towards the living area. "Marge, are you alright?" Lex questioned, concerned.

Mrs Cooper had her daughter tightly embraced, swaying back and forth. The nine-year-old looked up to Lex, shock and confusion written all over her face. She didn't know what was going on.

As Lex couldn't get an answer, she turned around, walking back to the detective who was still standing at the entrance. "Did something happen?"

"Someone was murdered at her store," Chloe informed her, lowering her voice to not be heard by the child.

"Oh!" Lex said, surprised but without showing emotion.

Suddenly Mrs Cooper spoke up, coming out of her daze, "Lex, if you don't mind, I'll take Aimée to school today." She quickly packed the book into the satchel, taking it in one hand, while her other one was clasped around her daughter. She stood up, heading for the exit.

"Sure, no problem," Lex assured her.

Chloe nodded her goodbye and followed Mrs Cooper out of the flat.

They walked across the floor and Mrs Cooper quickly unlocked the door to her own flat, letting everyone in. She went directly to the couch, sitting down and taking her daughter into her lap, holding her tight.

Chloe stepped forward, squatting down and stating calmly, "Ma'am, I know this day was very shocking for you, but you're scaring your little girl."

"I'm so sorry. She tried to tell me, but I didn't believe her," she replied, tears streaming down her face. She hugged her daughter tighter.

"Mummy, what's going on?" Aimée asked frightened, struggling to get free.

Chloe got closer, laying a hand on the mother's arm. "Ma'am, could I talk to your daughter for a moment?"

Mrs Cooper looked up, her rushing heart started to calm down and she nodded, releasing her child from her tight grip. "I'll just make some tea, yeah?" she suggested, standing up, and, slightly shaking, went to the kitchen area.

"Hello, Aimée. My name is Detective Decker. I'm from the police," Chloe introduced herself to the little girl. "Do you know someone named Jeff Murray?"

"Uh-huh," the little girl nodded, confirming. "Is he dead?"

Her innocent question took Chloe by surprise. "What makes you think that?"

"Because Lex said that he is a bad man and he will get punished for hurting me. And you are from the police," she explained matter-of-factly.

Chloe coughed slightly to get the frog out of her throat, feeling very uneasy to ask the next question. "How did he hurt you?"

Aimée became silent, she curled up into a ball and started to play with a bracelet on her wrist.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Chloe assured her, a warm smile on her lips.

"Mummy didn't believe me," Aimée stated suddenly, her eyes fixed on her wrist.

"But Lex did?" Chloe questioned calmly.

The little girl only nodded, remaining silent.

Chloe was about to get up as something shot through her mind, she turned back. "Aimée I just have one more question. How did you know that he was dead when Lex only told you he would be punished?"

"Because Lex said that the only person who is allowed to punish people is the devil. You have to be dead to go to hell," Aimée explained in a serious tone.

"That's right, little human," Lucifer commented assuringly.

"OK," Chloe half-whispered, getting up. "I think we have enough information, for now, Mrs Cooper," she informed the woman who stood silently behind the counter. "We'll call you if we need further information."

Mrs Cooper nodded, bringing them to the door.

/-/

Chloe walked down the corridor, heading for the stairway. As she was about to step onto the first stair, she halted abruptly, causing Lucifer to bump into her. He had to grip the handrail to not fall over and pull them both down the stairs.

"What is it?" he questioned baffled, but then saw the frown on her face. His eyes instantly beamed with delight. "You have an intuition!"

Chloe nodded, walking past him and knocking on Lex's door.

"I just have some questions. Protocol and all that," she explained briefly as she spotted the young woman.

Lex smiled in a friendly manner. "Of course," she replied, stepping aside and letting them in. "Make yourself at home," she invited them, going to the kitchen counter. "Do you want some tea?"

Lucifer looked around the open apartment: big cosy furniture without any frills. A flat very much to his liking. "Yes, please," he answered, but then corrected himself, "Well if you have something stronger, I'd prefer that."

"Coffee?" the young woman suggested questioning.

"Something with a little more alcohol in it," he explained, smiling delightedly and taking a seat on the couch.

Lex stared at him, flabbergasted. "I'm 19!" she declared emphatically.

Lucifer's face dropped. "So no alcohol then?" he asked disappointedly.

"Lucifer!" Chloe called him to order once again.

"I'm just asking," he defended himself, elucidating, "She's a young woman. In the right age to party. She should have some alcohol at home."

"That's against the rules!" Lex countered. "Legal drinking age is 21. Not younger!"

Lucifer looked at her as if she'd just prayed the 'Our Father'. "And you always play by the rules?"

"Of course!" she retorted. "That's the meaning of rules, after all."

"How boring!" He called out, getting up from the couch. "Come on, detective, we're done here. She's not our murderer," he declared, spilling the beans.

Lex looked at him, flabbergasted. "You thought I'm a murderer?"

"No!" Chloe denied vehemently, gazing angrily at the culprit. "I just have some questions if you don't mind, Lex. Lex, is this your full name?"

"No, my full name is Alexis Ramsey. Everyone just calls me Lex," she explained, looking expectantly at her. "What are your questions?"

"You said to Aimée that the man who hurt her will get punished, and now he is dead," Chloe summed it up.

"So, Jeff Murray is the one who got murdered," Lex concluded emotionless. Seeing Chloe nod, she explained calmly, "Well, what else could I have told her? That he will probably get away with it and she has to deal with that for the rest of her life? Come on! She's nine. She has a right to still believe in fairy tales, like the one that there is justice in this world."

Chloe looked at her warily. "You don't seem very affected by all that."

Lex shrugged her shoulders. "Why should I? That prick abused a kid. Now he's dead. So what? Got his fair punishment if you ask me," she countered, folding her arms in front of her chest.

Chloe nodded to herself, she couldn't agree more, but the detective in her still had to find the murderer, no matter what the victims did. "Have you told anyone what he did to her?"

Lex shook her head. "Not even her mum believed her. And with no evidence, only the words of a primary-school pupil, the chances were virtually zero that someone else would believe her," she halted, sighing. "That's just how things are. People throw you into the black water and either you stay afloat until someone pulls you out or you'll drown."

"And you pulled her out?" Chloe questioned, using her exact words.

"That's the least I could do for her, making sure that she was as far away from that man as possible," she replied truthfully.

A moment of silence fell over the three, before Chloe spoke up again, changing the topic, "You're studying, right?"

"Yup," Lex nodded.

"Medicine?" Chloe asked eyeing her up.

Lex laughed out loud. "I wish!" She took a deep breath. "No. That's too much responsibility. I'm studying computer science."

"Oh!" Chloe ordered the thoughts in her mind. "Well, that's all for now. If I have further questions -"

"Feel free to visit me anytime you like," Lex ended her sentence, smirking.

Lucifer stepped to the door, holding it open.

Chloe was about to go through as she turned back to the young woman, voicing her latest idea. "That little bracelet Aimée has, do you know where she got it from?"

Lex nodded, a smile on her face. "We made it. Well, she made one and I made her a second, but she gave that away to someone when we were on the playground last week."

"Ah, alright," Chloe replied, her thoughts already making new connections in her mind. "Thanks for your openness."

"No prob. I've got nothing to hide," Lex replied, grinning, saying goodbye and closing the door.

* * *

 **A/N:** That's it for now. I hope you liked it. Please leave a comment and let me know :D

Have a nice day!

:o)


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** My dear readers. I'm so, so sorry. I totally forgot to upload yesterday. RL kept me really busy. And I have to make another announcement. I had to split the chapter again. When I wrote down all the notes back then, they really appeared to have only about 2000 words each, but it seems they keep getting longer and longer. I'm truly sorry for that and hope that you'll survive that long chapter. It's shortly before the peak and I will update tomorrow again to keep in time.

Again, this chapter isn't beta-read. I hope I didn't do too many mistakes. Feel free to point them out. :D

 **Edit-1:** Since I've added some parts in the first four chapters, and kinda re-wrote it. I came to the conclusion, that in this chapter Lucifer's thoughts aren't really explained, so I did that. I added another session with him and Linda and also did some minor changes in the rest of the text.

 **Edit-2:** **now beta-read** by Daemon.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chloe tightened her fingers around the steering wheel. It was only shortly after sunrise and she still felt the lack of sleep in her bones. Trixie had had a nightmare around half past three in the morning and that had meant her sleep was over. She rubbed her eyes, stifling a yawn.

"This is so boring!" Lucifer complained, sitting next to her in the passenger seat, repeatedly pressing the button for the antenna and watching it extend and retract over and over again.

Chloe gazed at him, rapping him over the knuckles to make him stop. "That's what stakeouts are supposed to be," she stated matter-of-factly, turning her eyes back to the building.

He yawned loudly and stretched his arms to both sides, almost hitting her in the process. "I already told you yesterday, she's not our murderer."

Chloe shook her head, contradicting. "She has a file. And it took me over an hour to read it through."

Lucifer cocked his ears, looking at her with a mixture of curiosity and surprise. "So she is a naughty little girl?"

"Quite the contrary," she replied, slightly tapping on the steering wheel with her fingers. "The file has mostly listed records from child protective service. Her mother had a Munchausen by proxy syndrome; got her in and out of the hospital since she was three, so she could get attention, food, and sneak out medication for her own addiction. Then later, with eight, Lex was placed with a foster family where she got abused by their eldest son. Child protective service took her out and placed her back with her mother, who continued abusing her until they placed her with another family three years later. This family didn't abuse her but basically neglected her so she was on the streets for about a year. Then, with 12, her mother took her back in, just to sell her to some of her friends as a payment for her drugs. The only offence Lex herself had ever done was to break into school when she was fourteen. The judge took pity on her and put her into a relatively new project for juvenile delinquents where they lived in an assisted living community until their graduation. And now, she's studying," she recalled the main facts, feeling sympathy for what the young woman had been through, but also respect for what she'd achieved despite all that.

"The world is an evil place," Lucifer commented lowly, feeling a tinge of solidarity with her about the parental betrayal and neglect. "But I still don't see why Lex should break the law now? She'd risk everything she'd reached so far; doesn't make sense to me," he countered, looking sceptically at Chloe.

She shook her head in contradiction. "Makes perfect sense to me. You don't live through all of that abuse and come out unscathed. Maybe something in her snapped as Aimée Cooper got abused as well? And she said it herself that they met the daughter from our second victim a week ago. She is the connection between the last two cases. My guts tell me, she is our candidate."

"Come on!" Lucifer objected loudly. "This young girl? How tall is she? 5 feet 3, 5 feet 4?" he estimated. "These were grown-up men, strong and heavy. How could she even overpower them? Where should she get that muscle relaxation drug from? She's not even old enough to have a proper booze. And where is the connection to the burglar?" He tossed in all the outstanding questions.

Chloe shrugged her shoulders. "I haven't the slightest clue. But a smart man once told me that I should trust my instincts," she turned her head, looking at him.

Lucifer grinned smugly, feeling flattered. "And that smart man you're talking of, was he," he halted to put more meaning into the next words, "good-looking?" He wiggled his eyebrows in a flirting manner.

She rolled her eyes and turned her gaze back at the building. She straightened her face, trying to suppress the smirk that threatened to stretch her lips into a toothy grin, but to no avail.

"I can see that!" Lucifer commented, grinning even more. He leant into her, increasing his banter by decreasing the space between them. Putting on a seductive voice, he whispered, "Maybe we could elaborate on this later? Just you and me by candlelight."

Chloe looked back and forth between the building and him. A touch of pink accentuated her cheeks, giving away that she was unsure whether it still was just a friendly banter or something more. She was tempted as his lips came closer and she raised her hand, slightly brushing his cheek as her hand moved around his neck, resting on the hair line.

Lucifer felt confident that his flirts had finally borne fruits. His lips were only inches away from hers as she suddenly grabbed him by the neck and pushed his upper body down, warning him in a hushed voice, "Duck!"

"You're ruining the moment! Again!" he complained in frustration, still feeling her tight grip onto him. He slipped further down into the car, brushing off her hand.

Chloe shushed him. "She's leaving the building." She eyed over the dashboard, trying to not let Lex out of her sight while showing as little from herself as possible.

Lucifer rolled his eyes, stating the obvious, "Maybe because she's going to uni!"

"Or maybe she's looking for her next victim," she replied, starting the car and cautiously following Lex along the street.

They didn't come far as Lex disappeared into the next coffee shop. Chloe searched for a parking lot a little distant from the shop where she had a perfect view towards the entrance, attentively observing the people come and go.

After some time had passed, Chloe tensed nervously. "Something isn't right!" she exclaimed. "That woman over there went into the shop three minutes after Lex, and she's already coming out. Lex must have sneaked out somehow."

Chloe was about to open the door as a knock sounded on the windowpane. Startling her, she instinctively clutched her gun and turned around, spotting Lex holding a cardboard box with three coffees in her hand. She lowered the pane, staring at her grumpily.

"Good morning," Lex singsonged joyfully. "I was just wondering since you're following me anyway, could you give me a ride to uni? I'm a little late today."

Chloe frowned. She was miffed that their cover was busted so easily, but waved her hand nevertheless, gesturing the young woman to get into the car.

Lex grabbed a cup of coffee, handing it out to her. "Here, you looked like you could need that," she explained, waiting until Chloe grabbed the cup before she also gave her milk capsules and sugar sticks. Then she carefully hopped into the car, letting her backpack drop onto the backseat and taking the second coffee from her box, holding it towards Lucifer. "After our conversation yesterday, I thought, you'd prefer this," she commented, eyeing him expectantly.

Lucifer took the drink, giving her a puzzled look. He turned the hole to his lips and sipped at it, tasting the whisky and feeling a light burn down his throat. All doubt was instantly washed away. "Say what you want, I like that girl!" he stated delightedly, his lips curled up into a big smile as he took a second gulp.

Chloe eyed him suspiciously. "What's in that coffee?" She leant over, trying to grab it to inspect it herself.

Lucifer quickly shielded his cup from her hand. "Who keeps his tongue, keeps his friends," he replied, mimicking an Irish accent. After another big gulp, he turned around, precautionary holding his coffee out of his partner's reach. "So, you little mischief. Didn't you say yesterday you play by the rules?"

"Sure! Why?" Lex answered, having no clue what he was intending.

He smiled knowingly. "You broke into school five years ago. Wanted to change your grades, score off some teachers or get to the chemicals?"

The young woman smiled with delight. "You've read my file! That's so cute," she stated directed at Chloe, then turning to Lucifer she answered, "To begin with, yes, I said I play by the rules, but not that I never did something wrong. And to your question, I didn't break anything. The caretaker let me inside so I could have a place to sleep and study."

"Why didn't you tell that to the cops?" Chloe turned around, asking her bewildered.

She faced the detective. "Because I didn't want the caretaker to get in trouble. Plus, the cops brought me to a place where I had shelter and food for free. What more could I ask for?"

"So you lied to them!" Lucifer half concluded, smiling slyly at her.

"I don't lie!" Lex countered appalled. "I might not tell absolutely everything, but what I say is the truth," she explained matter-of-factly, adding with a much lower voice, "I don't like lies."

Chloe eyed her sceptically. "So, when I ask you something, no matter what, you'll say the truth?" She didn't believe her to the fullest but felt that this was the best chance she could get.

"Of course!" Lex answered shortly.

"Did you kill Jeff Murray?" Chloe wanted to know, attentively watching every change of expression in the young woman's face.

"No, I didn't!" Lex replied truthfully.

Lucifer's lips turned back into a smug smile, directed at the detective. "Sounds honest to me," he backed her up.

Chloe found no hint of a lie in the young woman's face either, but she was too proud to admit it. She turned towards Lucifer, countering, "What do you know?"

"I know when someone's lying, and she's not," he retorted, cocking his head and taking a sip.

"You're biased," she responded quickly. "She already bribed you."

"Detective!" Lucifer exclaimed appalled at her accusation. "You just don't want to admit I'm right!" he riposted, grinning smugly and taking another sip.

"You're not!" Chloe denied, staring him down.

Lucifer nodded confidently. "I am! Admit it," he commanded, returning the stare.

"I don't!" She huffed, clenching her fist. She wouldn't let him win this time, that was for sure.

Lex started to snicker, letting herself sink back into the seat. Her laughter increased at the show and soon she was giggling in amusement.

"What's so funny?!" Chloe turned around, gazing at her with a frown.

"You two!" she clarified. Slightly out of breath, she questioned, "Since when are you together?"

The detective gaped at her in horror. "I, we," she stammered, shaking her head and gesturing wildly with her hands. Finally finding back her tongue, she denied insistently, "We are not a couple!"

"Are you sure? You two are fighting like one," Lex replied, stating the obvious.

Chloe was lost for words again. She looked at Lucifer, hoping he would back her up, but seeing his smug smile staring back at her and expectantly waiting for her to speak, she knew she was on her own. She harrumphed, giving him the evil eye, before she turned her head, starting the engine. "You'll need to get to uni," she quickly changed the topic and drove off.

/-/

"Thanks for the ride," Lex stated as they came to a halt in front of the large building, breaking the silence that had fallen onto them since they'd set off. "I'm done at half past four. The university has surveillance cameras. Just to let you know, so you don't have to wait here all day long. See you then," she informed them, hopping out of the car and heading for the entrance.

Chloe frowned, displeased that Lex seemed so unperturbed by her suspicion. But what displeased her, even more, was that she started to like that young woman.

/-/

Linda was right in the middle of a consultation as suddenly the door was pushed open and Lucifer walked into the room. Completely ignoring the man who sat on the couch, he said to her with a demanding undertone, "I need your help."

"Lucifer, I have a patient right now. Why don't you wait outside and I call you in as soon as I have time?" she suggested calmly.

He shook his head insistently. "I can't wait!" Turning to the man on the couch he questioned, "Why do you need her help?"

"I lost my job, my house, and now my family and I are living in a shelter. I'm a failure to everyone," the man replied, fresh tears welling up in his eyes.

Lucifer rolled his eyes. Why do humans always cry over such trifling things? He grabbed into his inside pocket, whipping out his chequebook. He opened it, went to the doctor's desk, taking a pen from her pen holder and signed at the bottom of the first page, ripping it off after he was done. He turned around, stepping to the man and handing him the little sheet of paper. "Here, I'm in a generous mood today. Fill in the amount you need to get your house back." The man stared at him with wide blank eyes, his shaking hand grabbing for the blank cheque. "Now could you please leave? I have a really big problem right now and need the doctor to myself," he commanded, silently gesturing to the exit door.

The man nodded, quickly said his goodbye to Linda and rushed out of the door, before the generous stranger might change his mind, closing it with a loud bang.

Lucifer sighed deeply, taking a seat on the couch himself. He opened the buttons of his jacket, and started to fiddle at the sleeve of his shirt, trying to ease off some of the nervousness he suddenly felt.

Linda was still perplexed by the moment she just witnessed. Never before had she seen him being so charitable, especially not to a complete stranger. She swallowed audibly, squirming around on the chair until she found a comfortable position that didn't reveal the arousal she still got whenever he was near her and folded her hands into each other. "Well, what problem do you have right now?"

He looked up at her, sighing again, and opened his mouth to speak, but the words just didn't want to pass his tongue. Slightly frustrated, he closed his mouth again, leaning against the backrest as he took a deep breath.

"Is it something about detective Decker?" Linda assumed, probably the most obvious reason why he looked so distraught right now.

Lucifer looked up, his eyes revealing the bulk of conflicting feelings that ran around inside of him. "Yes!" he denied, but quickly contradicted himself, "No!"

Linda stared at him, perplexed. "Well, what now? Is it about the detective or not?"

He pursed his lips, looking around the room, and all of a sudden he blurted out, "I think I know who the killer is."

"And that's not good?" she questioned, reading in his body language that he was anything but happy about it.

"I don't want her to get caught!" he talked in riddles.

"It's a woman?" she questioned with a mixture of surprise and curiosity, female murderers were really rare. Getting no answer out of her patient, Linda sighed with frustration. "Look, Lucifer, I can't read your mind, so you have to be a little bit more specific with what you're talking about."

"Well," he nodded, swallowing the little lump in his throat, and explained, "I told you that we're investigating the murder of two men who had been tortured to death, right?" He waited for her nod before he continued, "Well, yesterday there was a third victim, a really bad guy and he got really, really badly tortured." His eyes sparkled with delight as he thought back at the scene. "And we also met a young woman, well, actually she's just a girl, but Chloe had a feeling that she was our murderer."

"And you're contradicting her?" Linda tossed in, reading between the lines as she followed his words attentively.

He squinted his eyes and his cheeks moved up as he pursed his lips, giving away the inner battle he just fought between his beliefs and his wishes. He sighed again, shaking his head once more before he admitted, "I think she is right."

"But that's wonderful, isn't it?" Linda exclaimed, sending a supportive smile towards him.

"Look, doctor. I know evil. I sense it in those who are. And this girl isn't evil. But still, today, when we had her in the car and Chloe asked her that question, I knew she's our culprit." He saw her raising her hands in confusion, so he elucidated more, "Chloe asked her if she'd killed the latest guy. She denied, of course. I know when someone tells a lie and she didn't, but I also saw the light smirk on her lips as Chloe asked the wrong question. That guy was still alive when we arrived at the crime scene, of course, she didn't kill him. But she most probably tortured him. And therewith, she must also be the killer of the first two victims."

"Okay, but shouldn't you tell this to your partner then?" Linda questioned, confused.

He shrugged it off. "Chloe is smart, she already came so far despite my objections. I have no doubt she will find it out herself soon enough."

"I still don't understand why you don't want the murderer to get caught? I mean, you've once told me that you despise people taking law into their own hands and punish others because, you, the devil, are the only one who should do this. So why are you not enraged about the fact that this woman, or girl, takes over the job that is yours?" she questioned, making use of his metaphors.

"Because," Lucifer tossed his arms in the air in frustration. "When Chloe finds out that she's the murderer, everyone will see her as nothing but that: someone bad, someone evil, a monster, and she's nothing of that. She got tortured herself when she was a child. Her mother betrayed her. Her caretakers neglected her. She was on her own right from the start, abandoned, and still, she doesn't go against everyone. She just punishes the bad people. I don't know why she's doing it, though. She said she always plays by the rules and she knows that I am the only one who is allowed to punish people, so she is wide aware where she's going when she dies. But -," he broke off, having no words left in his mind to speak.

Linda sighed, feeling sympathetic to him. "You see a lot of yourself in her, don't you?" He didn't say anything, only looking up, lightly biting his lower lip, and she knew that the answer was ' _yes_ '. "Lucifer, it's still against the law. And you need to stop her if she really is the killer," she urged him carefully.

"But, today, I saw it in Chloe's eyes that she likes that girl, and when she finds out that she's the killer, she will hate her. She will only see the monster in her," he countered quietly.

"Are we still talking about the girl right now?" she questioned, sensing the fear in his words. "Lucifer, you said it yourself, you never killed a person before."

"Yes!" he interrupted her, adding, "I punished souls that were already dead."

Linda nodded. "See, you're not her, Lucifer. No matter what the detective will feel about her when she catches her, those are not the feelings she'll have towards you. Do you understand what I mean?"

Lucifer looked up at her, his eyes flashing the confusion he felt.

"You're projecting, Lucifer," Linda explained. "Deep down inside of you, you're afraid that when Chloe stops liking or starts hating her, because she is the killer, that she also will change her feeling towards you. That she will some day see nothing more than a monster in you and will abandon you. You're afraid of losing her, but that won't happen, because you're not evil, Lucifer. You don't go around and kill people. You help solve crimes and catch the bad guys. What Chloe feels about you won't change just because you think you're the devil."

"I am the devil," Lucifer corrected her. He pursed his lips again, taking a deep breath as he processed what Linda just told him.

/-/

"Come on! Go green!" Chloe grumbled under her breath, impatiently drumming her fingers on the wheel to release some of the tension she felt. They were already half an hour late. Dan was supposed to take Trixie today but had backed out last minute, saying that he had something really important to do. ' _As if I didn't!'_ she thought to herself, still feeling the anger about him inside of her. She had to wait for the babysitter to arrive and therefore couldn't make it in time.

"I told you I'll get her alone, but no," Lucifer reproached her, feeling slightly on edge. "She's probably already gone."

Chloe shook her head. "We'll see."

Finally, the lights turned green and she stepped on the accelerator with a little more force than she'd needed to.

The car turned into the parking lot and Chloe let out a relieved sigh as she spotted her sitting on a stone bench, some books in her hand. She briefly hooted the car horn.

Lex looked up at the sound and smiled cheerfully as she spotted them. She gathered her stuff and hopped down, walking towards the car and getting inside. "Hey, you two. How was your day?" she asked, genuinely curious, the big smile remaining on her face.

"Boring! Had to watch her encounter with detective douche," Lucifer replied nonchalantly.

"Lucifer!" Chloe quickly interrupted him, staring at him and silently ordering him to keep shut about her private affairs.

"Please!" he countered. The words of the doctor still resounded in his head, but he couldn't and didn't want to encourage her. If she really was the murderer, Chloe would have to find out on her own. "Do you really think that's how a murderer would react when seeing the cops?" he egged her on.

"Shut up!" Chloe hissed, glaring at him. This was really not the time to play bad cop, good devil.

Lex chuckled lowly. "I really like you two," she commented earnestly. "But the detective is right, Mr. civilian consultant," she addressed him with a tinge of mockery. "You should back her up and not be on my side."

"You hear it!" Chloe agreed, feeling relieved that she at least got some support, even if it was from her suspect.

"We are looking for a serial killer, and not a young lady who just likes to spend time with us," Lucifer countered, looking in the rear view mirror to attentively watch Lex.

Lex's eyes grew big in delight. "A serial killer is it now? That's interesting."

Chloe rolled her eyes, she couldn't believe that he'd slipped that as well. Quickly debating in her head whether it would count as self-defence when she'd shoot him right away, she decided against it. Despite all his annoyance, and that he could be a lot, she really liked working with him. And not just because he was the only one who actually wanted to work with her.

She started the engine, addressing the back-seat passenger. "Where do you want to head?" As she saw Lex shrugging her shoulders cluelessly, she rephrased her question, "Where do you normally go, after uni?"

"Home," she simply answered.

Chloe nodded. "Then I'll drive you there," she replied and set the car in motion.

/-/

Lex unlocked her flat, letting the three of them in. "Make yourself at home," she declared, heading to the kitchen counter and putting the kettle on.

Lucifer went directly to the couch, letting himself drop onto the cosy material, interestedly watching the other two, while Chloe remained standing, using the moment to inspect the living area more precisely: It was very sparsely furnished and personal items like pictures, blankets, or decoration were completely missing. She felt the flat was very unlike that of a studying young woman. But on the other hand, how could she know?

"Are you living alone?" Chloe questioned interested.

Lex nodded. "Yup!"

"Since when?" She asked further. Maybe Lex got the flat only recently and didn't have money for making it homely. After all, students never had money, she thought to herself.

She quickly thought about it before answering. "For two years now." She turned around, leaning against the counter to properly look at the detective while getting interrogated.

Chloe looked at her, puzzled. Knowing the law in and out, she stated sceptically. "You could rent a flat at 17?"

Lex grinned at her, understanding the source of her doubt. "I got emancipated when I was 16 but moved in here with a friend. He was a soldier and went to Afghanistan a year later. So, since then, I've lived alone."

"Was?" Chloe questioned, not having missed that little detail.

"He was killed in action," knowing what the detective's next question would probably be, she added, "About a month ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that," she expressed her condolences. "Were you two close?"

The water was boiling now and made the kettle hiss shrilly. Lex turned around, taking it off the stove and pouring three cups of tea. "Closer than I had been to anyone else in my entire life," she answered, putting on a friendly smile.

It was so fast that Chloe almost missed it, but she didn't. She saw the ghost of sorrow flashing in Lex's eyes. The first true emotion she witnessed from the young woman and Chloe had enough respect for her to not press more questions on that topic. She nodded, sympathising with her about her loss, and quickly changed the subject. "Could I use the bathroom, please?"

"Sure," Lex replied, the smile back on her face. "Down the corridor and through the door on the right," she explained, watching her leave. Not being able to resist the teasing, she called after her. "The left door leads to my bedroom. Be careful with the second upper drawer, it sometimes gets stuck."

Lex turned back, grabbing two of the mugs and heading to the couch, placing them on the coffee table and taking a seat on the ottoman opposite to Lucifer.

"What's in it?" he questioned, taking the cup and smelling the strange fragrance.

She grinned at him, answering, "My secret mixture."

Lucifer leant back, crossing his legs and eyeing her in amusement. "And what is your secret mixture?"

"Won't tell," Lex replied, shaking her head.

He straightened himself, leaning forward and putting the cup aside. "I can make you tell me whatever I want, young lady." His voice was gentle, but with a determining undertone.

Lex sat up as well, one leg crossed under the other, grinning joyfully. "Alright, try it." She supported her arms on her legs and rested her chin on her hands, looking at him curiously and intently.

Since the consultation, Lucifer more and more felt the urge to find out if she really was the killer or not. Not to reveal her to the detective, he just wanted to know why she did it. Why she threw away all the achievements she'd reached so far. Plus, there still was the disappointment of the second murder. "So, little mischief," he started, leaning further forward. His eyes became big and he gazed at her, grinning wolfishly. "Tell me, what do you desire the most?" The desired effect wasn't coming. Lex still sat there, watching him expectantly. "Strange," he commented, frowning. "Don't you feel a yearning to sleep with me?"

"Ugh! Dude! You're old enough to be my father. That's gross," she countered, disgusted.

"Normally they don't care about the age," he commented, leaning back and watching her attentively. His interest in this young lady grew to a new high.

Lex supported her head back on her hands, asking, "Who are _they_?" she emphasised the word.

"Anyone, to be precise," he answered, explaining, "Normally I just say my words and everyone tells me their deepest secrets in an instant. Well," he halted, frowning again, "all except one."

"The detective," she stated matter-of-factly.

"You guessed right. Maybe you two are connected somehow. It could be a birth defect. Do you know who your father is?" he voiced the thoughts in his head.

Lex giggled with joy. "I highly doubt that. And I also didn't guess, I knew it was the detective."

"How?" Lucifer asked brooding.

"Well, it's obvious," she answered, elucidating, "Your heart belongs to her, therefore you can't jinx her. Deep down inside of you, you want her to see the real you and not just the mask you put on because you love her."

"That's complete nonsense!" Lucifer countered appalled, raising his voice. "I'm the devil! I'm standing way above such weak human feelings."

"You know the saying: Methinks thou dost protest too much?" she retorted, smirking.

"I do not love her!" He stared at her, angry and threatening.

The smirk on her lips remained. "Do you now let the devil out?" she teased, laughing mischievously.

"I _am_ the devil!" His face darkened.

"Prove it!" Lex dared him, eyeing him provokingly.

Lucifer snickered lowly, his face softening a little. "I don't want to scare you off."

"I can't be scared that easily," she countered, shaking her head.

"Alright. Don't say, I didn't warn you," Lucifer leant forward, looking at her, a devilish smile on his lips. His eyes turned fire red, before his whole skin seemed to disappear, revealing his true face.

Lex stared at him, bewildered and in awe. "Oh gosh! You, you are the devil!"

"Told you so," he replied smugly.

A radiant smile settled down on her face. "This is so awesome!"

Lucifer was baffled. "You're not scared?"

"Heck no! Why should I?" she replied, grinning from ear to ear. "When you're the devil, the real one, that means hell does exist and I will see Ian again! This is the best day ever since he died!" she exclaimed with joy.

"Hell doesn't work like that, you know?" he interjected calmly, his assumptions turning more and more into confirmation, the more she revealed about herself.

"I talked to a priest and he told me, according to what you do in life, you'll end up in a different part of hell. Something like that," Lex explained quickly.

He chuckled lightly, gazing at her. Damn priests, he thought, always getting it wrong. Taking a deep breath, he sat back, explaining shortly, "Not quite. The most of them simply get deprived of the things they craved for in life. Then there are some who live through certain horrors over and over again, these basically punish themselves. And then there are those I choose to punish personally. They are the really bad ones."

"Oh. Well," she halted, as suddenly something crossed her mind, "Speaking of personal punishment. Shouldn't you be in hell to punish them?" Her question turned into a demand as she voiced the last words.

"Nope!" he popped the 'p', wiggling his head. "I'm retired," he grinned at her, taking the cup and sipping at it.

"What? Why?" she countered, appalled. "All the souls down there are waiting to be tortured. You can't just leave them like that. You have a job to do!"

"Shall someone else take that job. I don't want it anymore!" he rejected it with a shrug.

Lex was flabbergasted at his attitude. "You can't just leave!" she burst out in anger. "It's your responsibility."

"It's not!" Lucifer replied, getting angry himself. "My father sent me down there as a punishment. He forced me to do it. And for so many millennia I complied, but enough is enough! Finally, I can do what I want and not what someone else is ordering me to."

Lex took a deep breath, composing herself. "Well, seen from this angle, you're right. You definitely deserve some time for yourself," she reasoned.

"Hell yeah!" He interjected. He couldn't agree more to that.

She gazed at him, wondering, "But why didn't you make sure that there is someone doing your job while you're up here?"

Lucifer shrugged his shoulders, clueless. "Don't know. Never considered that."

"You really should have a second-in-command," she concluded, suggesting, "Maybe someone you trust."

He thought it through, replying, "Well, there are currently only two people I trust, but one is here to protect me and the other is a human."

"You really don't have it easy," she pitied him.

Chloe entered the living room again, holding a framed photo in her hands. Since Lex had already put it out so nicely, she'd used the time to inspect her bath and bedroom a little. But all she found was that photo, standing on the night table.

"Did you know that he's the devil?" Lex stated, fully excited as she spotted the detective.

Chloe looked at him, annoyed. "Really?!"

"I should have told you, she doesn't believe me," Lucifer explained to Lex.

"But why not?" She didn't understand it. "Didn't you show her your real face?"

Lucifer shook his head insistently.

"What does she mean with that?" Chloe asked puzzled staring at him.

"You need to show her." Lex insisted.

"No!" he refused firmly. "She never did anything wrong. There is no reason to frighten her."

Lex started to grin as she got aware of the meaning behind his words. "I understand now."

Still confused about what they were talking about, Chloe raised her words. "What do you understand now? And who is this?" She showed the picture towards Lex.

"Ian," she answered quickly.

The detective looked at her, frowning. "Oh. I assumed, that Ian was more your age. This man here looks at least five years older than you."

"Seven, to be correct. I've first met him in the program for juvenile offenders," Lex revealed.

"And why do you think he is in hell?" Lucifer questioned, a sly smile playing on his lips.

Lex's smile grew into a toothy grin and Chloe thought for a moment, that the two had continued talking in their minds as they stared at each other in silence. "What did he do in Afghanistan?" she questioned warily, her body tensed.

"He tortured people," Lucifer answered, not letting his eyes off of the young woman. He felt delighted that he finally knew the reason behind all this.

Chloe stepped forward. "Lex, is Ian really dead?" she questioned, thinking that he might be the killer.

"Yes," Lex answered. Turning her head to the detective, she added, "But he still does exist." She stood up, going to the coat hook and grabbing her jacket, putting it on.

"Where are you going?" Chloe questioned, putting the picture down and taking hold of her gun.

"We are," Lex corrected her. "I need you to meet someone. Come on," she stated and went out of the flat.

Chloe ran after her. Lucifer hopped off the couch and followed them.

/-/

Lex walked quickly down the streets, always making sure that she was some distance ahead, but that they were still following her.

"Stop walking," Chloe called after her. She was tensed but didn't want to take out her gun. There were still people everywhere, and she didn't want the situation to escalate. She followed her, but every time she started to run, Lex did the same and she couldn't let Lucifer fall too much behind. Still, she didn't want to slow down either.

Lex led them to a run-down area with lots of condemned houses. She disappeared in one and Chloe spurted forward to not lose trace. She ducked under a fence and squeezed through a half-open door.

The corridor was dark and the smell terrible.

"Be careful with the steps, some are broken. And don't lean onto the handrail. It's not safe," Lex shouted from above the staircase and Chloe quickly followed her voice. She briefly turned around, spotting Lucifer coming through the door, and jogged up the stairs.

The planks creaked under her weight and a little voice inside of her told her to be careful, but she couldn't listen to that voice now. She didn't want to lose Lex, who was already one floor ahead.

The creaking sound increased and suddenly a loud crack resounded through the empty building. The plank under her food had broken and Chloe almost fell into the appearing hole. Instinctively, she shifted her body, lost balance and fell backwards. Trying to hold onto something, she grabbed the handrail, expecting it to break her fall, but it simply gave way like grass bent by the wind.

"Chloe!" Lucifer screamed for her. He ran upwards but was too far away to break her fall.

Chloe was sure she'd fall down the two floors, as suddenly a hand grabbed her, holding her tight.

"I told you to be careful," Lex stated and pulled her up. She placed her against the wall and waited until Lucifer was at her side before she let go and spurted further up.

"You alright?" Lucifer questioned full of worry.

Chloe nodded, gazing after her in wonder. She didn't know how that young woman had such a strength.

"Come on! Just one more floor," Lex told them to hurry.

The two followed. Lucifer made sure that he remained beside Chloe, to grab her in case another plank would break. As they reached the floor, Lex was already at the far back, waiting for them in front of a door.

"I used to live here," she explained as she saw them coming closer. "My mum's friend was living right there." She pointed towards the door that the detective and Lucifer had just passed. "He gets you everything you want. Heroin, Valium, Lorazepam," she recited.

"Succinylcholine," Chloe suggested, watching her attentively.

"Everything!" Lex replied, her eyes sparkling with delight. She unlocked the door, leaving it wide open as she went inside.

Chloe gestured Lucifer to get behind her as she took out her gun, pointing it forward and cautiously following inside. It smelled of bacon, pastry and some different food she couldn't get her name on, but also that strong of urine and mould that she had to breathe through her mouth.

Lucifer screwed up his nose in disgust. "What is that reek?" he questioned, as he followed behind.

"Lucifer, detective Decker, I'd like you to meet my mum," Lex introduced them and pointed towards a figure sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, tightly strapped to it. In front of her was a table, with different food on it. Everything out of reach.

The woman herself didn't move. Her skin was dirty and of leathery texture, her features were sunken into the flesh. She had no life in her and Chloe thought for a moment that she was dead.

Lex walked up to her, checking the IV that was applied to her arm, and then placed her fingers on the woman's neck, checking her pulse. At that moment, the woman took a heavy breath, croaking as she inhaled. "Oh, you're still alive?" she greeted her mother, leaning down to her to look her in the eyes.

She grinned. "Hungry?" She took some of the food, holding it under her mother's nose, who instantly tried to bite it. Lex quickly pulled away, placing it back on the table and stepping aside.

"What did you do?" Chloe asked in shock, lowering her gun. Her eyes were wide, and her mind refused to believe that someone could do this to their own kind.

"Oh, what a sweet torture," Lucifer stated, delighted at what he saw. "Are you punishing her for what she did to you?"

"I didn't know she'd make it that far," Lex explained, avoiding both their questions. "She's holding onto life for two weeks now."

"You are the killer!" Chloe exclaimed aghast, putting two and two together. Coming back to her senses, she quickly pointed the gun at her, commanding, "Hands up!"

Lucifer chuckled. "I really wouldn't have guessed that your mother is your first victim?"

"Well, actually she's the second," Lex corrected, slowly walking towards them. She stopped in the middle of the way between her mother and the detective. "My first one was a former Nazi. I used to visit him in the retirement home and he told me all the things he did back then, to the Jews and the Polish; to the elderly and the little children. Yes, he was already 95, but I couldn't let him have a peaceful death, could I? I met him in the park on the day I got the notification about Ian's death. I took him to the old crematorium, put him into one of the big combustion furnaces and watched him burn to death. His screams were so loud, I couldn't even feel my own pain anymore."

"Ah, that's wonderful," Lucifer praised her. "Don't get me wrong. I'm still the only one who should punish people, but regarding my lack of duty, you're making a damn good job, little mischief."

Chloe glared at him angrily. This wasn't the time nor the place to encourage a deranged murderer, and he should know that. "Why are you telling us all this?" she asked puzzled, attentively watching her.

Lex looked at her, astonished by her question. "Don't you understand? You are my counterpart, Detective. You're supposed to bring me down. I was meant to meet you. You and the devil."

"Lucifer is not the devil!" Chloe objected vehemently. "There is no such thing as heaven or hell. You can't just kill people, no matter what they did. That's not right!"

"Sorry, you're wrong, detective," she objected calmly. "Hell does exist and it's the only way for me to go there. I had to kill someone, but I couldn't take innocent people, could I?"

"I told you, Lex, it doesn't work this way," Lucifer interjected, correcting her, "You won't meet your soldier there because that's how you'd get tortured."

"Well, you're up here, so I have enough time to look for him," she replied wittily. "And while I'm still alive, I can take some more people down with me."

"Lucifer, don't encourage her," Chloe warned him. "Lex, you can't kill them. I know that you've been through a lot in your life, but killing them is wrong." She groped for words. Finally finding those she hoped would make Lex see reason, she stated, "It's against the rules. And you always play by the rules, right?"

"I do play by the rules." Lex looked at her, sympathising. "Don't worry, Detective. You'll understand some day."

"Well, I do understand it," Lucifer tossed in. "You want to go to hell, so you have to do something to earn your place there. You have to be bad," he explained for the detective, but didn't take his eyes off of Lex. "And I really appreciate all the work you put into your victims: The burning, the starving to death, the eviscerating, the, the -," he struggled, not quite knowing how to put the last murder into one word. Finding one, he ended, "stringing."

Lex's lips grew into a big smile. "You know what, I actually wanted to impale Jeff, but then I got inspired by the puppets," she emphasised the last word, a radiant smile on her face. "I wanted to make every death unique, like a personalised torture."

"I totally agree with you," Lucifer affirmed. "But why just hang that basher and let him bleed out?" This was the last riddle he couldn't solve and he urged to know.

"What?" Chloe stated flabbergasted. "She just revealed to us that she killed all these people and all you wonder about is why the second-last got off so easily?"

"Yes!" he answered matter-of-factly.

"You really wanna know that, huh," Lex replied, her smile turned into a sly grin. She didn't answer him. Instead, she turned around, starting to walk back to her mother.

A loud bang resounded through the room as Chloe pulled the trigger without further warning, sending the bullet right through the young woman's back; it left through her chest, entraining a large hole.

"Why did you do that?" Lucifer screamed at her in anger, completely taken aback at what just happened. He rushed to Lex.

"Wow," the young woman said in shock. "I knew I would die, but not that soon," she stated, falling to the ground. The blood was quickly leaving her body, forming a dark red sea around her.

"No, no no!" Lucifer bent down to her, pressing his hands onto her wound. "Don't die. Not yet!" he ordered, distraught.

"Don't be mad at her," Lex advised calmly. "She was supposed to do that."

"Tell me, little mischief, why did you let him off?" he urged her to answer.

"Shall I tell you?" she asked, teasing. She coughed blood that turned her teeth red and left a trail down her cheek.

"Yes, now tell me," he ordered sternly but knew he had no hold on her.

Lex smiled in pain. "Then what about a little deal with the devil. You let me to Ian, and I'll tell you why. OK? I answer whatever you ask, do whatever you want, but you have to promise me that I'm with Ian for all eternity," she stated through gasps.

Lucifer stared down at her, sighing. He took her hand in his large one, squeezing it as he replied, "I promise!" His heart turned heavy as he sensed her soul leaving the body. He took a deep breath. As he exhaled, his emotion turned into anger. "Argh!" he yelled loudly. "Why did you do that?" He got up, walking towards her direction, furious. "You had no reason to shoot her! Damn-it!"

Chloe sank down to her knees, tears in her eyes. "I had to. She wouldn't have stopped."

"You didn't know that!" he reproached her, stopping in front of her and staring down in anger.

"I just knew it," she explained, looking sad.

He shook his head, swallowing back his rancour. "These people were bad. They deserved to die."

"They didn't! Nobody does," Chloe objected, shaking her head.

"Then why did you kill her?" he countered blankly.

His question took her off guard. She didn't know it. She took out her phone, intending to call for backup as he turned around, heading for the exit. "Where are you going?" she called after him.

He halted, looking back."Cleaning up your mess," he answered spitefully and left her alone.

/-/

Lucifer stepped out of the elevator, the anger about what had just happened was still vividly on his face. "Maze!" he called loudly after her. "Get your daggers and come here!"

"What?" the demon huffed, annoyed.

"We need to get down to hell," he informed her.

A radiant smile appeared on her face. "I'll quickly go get my things."

"You just need your weapons," he replied. As he saw her questioning look, he stated, "It'll be a flying visit."

"Damn!" she exclaimed disappointed, disappearing into her room.

* * *

 **A/N:** Yes, you see correct. You've finally reached the end. I hope you still had fun reading it, despite its exhausting length. Hope to hear from you.

Have a nice day!

:o)


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Hello, my dear readers. As I said, here is another chapter. Sorry for me getting confused about the upload-day. This is the one that should have been up already yesterday, so tomorrow is another upload and then I'm finally back to "every second day".

 **Edit** : This chapter **is now beta-read** by Daemon. Any remaining mistakes are my own :D

Enjoy!

* * *

"Home sweet home," Maze exclaimed happily as they passed the gates of hell.

Lucifer gazed at her, frowning. "You really should redefine your conception of sweet," he retorted, brushing the ash off of his shoulders and looking around in disgust. "Bloody hell!" He increased his pace, calling after her. "Hurry! The sooner we find her, the sooner we're out of this awful place."

"Who exactly do we need to find?" Maze wanted to know, keeping up with him. Their shoes made squeaking sounds as they walked ahead, leaving footprints in the ash as if it was snow.

"A young human; female; dark-brown hair of medium-length; about this height," he specified, holding his hand up to show her.

Maze looked at him, puzzled. "And why exactly are we looking for her? There's a reason people go to hell. I hope you haven't forgotten that," she added, her voice a little lower than before. She knew this was a sensitive topic and she didn't want to incur his wrath already within the first minutes they were back.

"I made a promise," he replied calmly, walking faster as he spotted a huge crowd of people. "Now shut up."

Maze rolled her eyes. "You and your damn promises." She scurried to him, getting closer and shielding his side as they edged their way through all the people.

" _Where am I?_ " - " _I wanna go home._ " - " _I'm scared!_ " the souls cried in confusion; joining their voices together in a song of unbearable agony.

Lucifer walked forward, startled at all the souls that had gathered up in this place without getting punished. He quickly brushed off his remorse. He was the devil after all. There was no reason for him to have a guilty conscience about not torturing them. Still, his fingers itched at the memory of their screams when he'd done so. "Oh, hello you," he nonchalantly greeted a soul. "Now I can finally see how you look with your eyes in your head," he commented and turned his attention to the others, scanning through them as he searched for Lex.

Maze pushed the people aside with more force than she needed to. She really missed torturing souls and let her frustration out on them; punching and kicking them, and scaring them off as she followed her master.

"Ah, there she is!" he exclaimed and walked faster, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her out of a sea of people. "Come here, little mischief."

" _I need to find Ian. I need to find Ian_ ," she stated shallowly, her eyes staring blankly into the distance.

He grabbed her chin, stretching her neck as he lowered himself till his mouth was inches away from hers. He squeezed her jaw open and breathed into her.

Lex gasped for air as she came to life. "Lucifer," she greeted him, fixing her eyes on his face. She took another breath, smelling the burnt air around her and gazing to her sides, noticing all the souls that were around them. "What did you just do?" she questioned flabbergasted as the memories rushed back into her mind.

"Breathing life into you, literally," he explained dryly.

"Oh," she commented, understanding. She turned her head. "And you are?" she greeted the woman who approached them, wearing a more than annoyed look on her face.

Lucifer briefly eyed to the side. "Oh, that's just Maze. She's -"

"The one to protect you, right," Lex ended his sentence, quickly putting two and two together.

"Witty little human," he stated, impressed. "She is, indeed."

"Could you tell me why exactly you had to make her your demon?" Maze interjected, sending a deprecating stare into his direction.

"As I said, I made a promise," he answered. His tone revealed that he was less than pleased about her query. "Now to you, mischief. You do remember what you did to get down here, right?"

Lex nodded eagerly. "You want to know why I let him die so easily."

Lucifer nodded, affirming. His posture was tensed and he looked at her with demanding yet cautious eyes; something this place caused. He didn't like it here. He didn't like it at all and wanted to go back as soon as possible. He riveted on the young woman, listening attentively.

"Well, you sure remember all the foil I'd laid around in the room, right?" She waited for his nod and then continued, "This was because I actually had in mind to cut his skin open. Tiny little cuts to make him bleed tiny little drops of blood until he would die, eventually."

"The death of a thousand cuts," Maze tossed in, enthusiastically smiling as she listened to the young woman.

"Yes," Lex answered, sizzling the 's' and looking at her with a radiant smile. "But when he was hanging down from the fan, staring at me, I recognised that he wasn't scared. He was angry, calling me names and threatening me like he did with his wife and daughter before. He still felt in control. So I decided against it and tested what would happen when I simply let him hang there. He got frantic! First calling after me, trying to get me back with threats. Then, after he realised it didn't work, he even promised me whatever I wanted when I would just come back. I knew then, that the most horrific death for him would be dying alone, seeing how the blood would leave his body and not being able to do anything against the inevitable."

Lucifer sighed with pleasure. "Oh, now I understand. Very well chosen, little human," he halted, realising his mistake. "Well, demon, you now are." He smiled at her, and suddenly an idea flashed through his mind.

"Can I go now and look for Ian?" she questioned, still feeling his tight grip on her.

"Not yet, Lex. I have another plan for you," he contradicted, pulling her with him. They walked back through the crowd, and once again Maze pushed the souls aside with more force than needed.

"But that was the plan!" she grumbled, as he stopped a little away from the crowd, defiantly looking at him. "I tell you why I killed him this way and you let me go to Ian."

"Well, I remember you offering me to say and do whatever I want," he corrected her with a warning tone, tightening his grip around her as he pulled her further.

"Yeah, right." Lex looked down gloomy.

"Don't worry. You'll get to your human soon enough," he assured her, leading the way to his private chambers. "He won't go anywhere anyway. But I've got a job for you," he stated, looking back at all the souls, before he turned his attention to her, explaining, "I'll make you that powerful, that you're stronger than all these souls combined, stronger than the demons down here. You'll even be able to make this Ian your demon and you will never be separated from him ever again." Lex looked up at his words with sparkling eyes and a radiant smile on her lips. "But I want you to continue my job as a torturer," he demanded sternly. "You were right, back then. These souls need punishment. And you will do this as long as I please. Do you understand me?"

"You'll make me your second in command?" Lex rephrased it.

"Yes, so to speak," he affirmed, letting go of her to hold his hand out to her. "Do you agree?"

"Heck yes! Of course, I agree!" Lex shouted and quickly grabbed his hand, shaking it with delight.

He smiled, pleased. "Now come on. We'll go to my place for what I have to do next," he commented and they disappeared into his chamber.

Lucifer turned into his true form, the dark red skin shining through as he opened his shirt and dug his fingers into his ribcage, tearing his ribs apart and leaving a huge hole.

"What the hell!" Maze shouted, flabbergasted. "Are you crazy? You can't just do that!"

"Shut up!" he yelled back, his fiery red eyes threatened her to speak up again. He grabbed Lex, digging his fingers into her ribcage as well and tearing it open, leaving a hole directly above her heart.

"Won't I die of that," Lex exclaimed, looking down at the hole in shock.

Lucifer chuckled, thinking ' _Humans!_ ' as he shook his head, pointing out, "You are already dead."

He grabbed into his hole with one hand, pulling off a piece of his heart, before he grasped her heart with his other hand, pulling off a piece as well and putting his piece at the place inside of her instead.

As soon as his hand had left her body, the wound closed and disappeared, as if nothing had happened. He still held the piece from her heart in his hands. Not knowing what to do with it, he put it at the empty place of his own heart, pushing his ribcage back together and watching his body heal in an instant. "I gave you a bit of my power," he commented, buttoning up his shirt and switching back to his human form.

"Am I now more powerful than all the demons and souls down here?" Lex questioned curiously.

"Yes," he answered matter-of-factly.

"Even more powerful than your right-hand Maze?" she asked further.

Maze shot daggers at her, a low growl escaping her throat.

"I guess so," he confirmed. "You're wearing a piece of an angel inside of you now."

Lex smiled with delight. Turning to Maze, she lowered her upper body, bowing slightly. "Don't worry, Maze. I'm wide aware of the chain of command, no matter how strong I am," she explained, showing her respect towards the much older demon, and, thus telling her between the lines that she would never go against her.

"Now come on, I need to show you everything before I'll go back," Lucifer commanded walking ahead.

/-/

Chloe entered her flat, completely exhausted. She quickly paid the babysitter a generous tip for the overtime hours and said her goodbye, locking the doors behind her.

It was almost midnight and all she wanted to do was to go upstairs to her bed and sleep forever, but her mind was racing with memories of the day: The arrival of the other cops interrogating her about her shot; the long wait until the coroner arrived, taking away Lex's body. All the time she was still lying there, Chloe couldn't take her eyes off. Moments ago, she was breathing, laughing, talking, backing her up, and then, in the blink of an eye, she was dead, gone, and Chloe was the cause of it.

When her boss had arrived at the scene, she interrogated her once more and Chloe had recalled the moments over and over again. And of course Lt. Monroe took away her gun and badge, suspending her until the interrogation about her would be over.

Chloe went to her daughter's room, silently opening it and watching Trixie sleep peacefully in her bed. She knew deep inside of her that if someone would hurt her little angel, she'd be the first to take revenge. The memories shot back into her head, forcing tear drops to the corners of her eyes. ' _Why did you kill her? You had no reason to do so!_ ' she heard Lucifer reproaching her in her head. And he was right.

She had no reason to.

She quickly closed the door as the first wave of guilt washed over her, accompanied by desperation, ripping her apart from inside and making her scream out in silence. She clasped her hands over her mouth just in case her vocal chords would decide to voice her cries before she'd reached the safe haven of her bedroom, as she made her way upwards.

Closing the door shut, she let herself drop onto the pillow, clutching it tightly as she screamed and cried into it, her body convulsing with emotions.

She heard the door being opened and shut again, and soon a hand brushed across her back, making her turn stiff like a deer in headlights.

"Come here," Lucifer's voice called her gently as he took her into his arms, lying down next to her and holding her tight, kissing her head with tender care as the second wave of emotions washed over her body and she cried her heart out.

/-/

Lex walked through the personalised hells some of the souls had put themselves into, in search of Ian. It was the unmistakable sound of a missile hitting something that led her to the place.

When she arrived, she watched him and his men scream in agony as they burned to death within their car, their flesh falling off their bones and filling the area with the distinctive smell. They burned to ashes, just to rise up again, back in combat gear, shouting commands at each other and exiting their vehicle, running into a building. It wouldn't take long until they got back into their car and the missile would hit it, repeating the neverending nightmare.

Lex walked ahead. Eyeing him, she stepped to his side, grabbing him by the arm.

Ian turned around, gaping at her with wide eyes, joyfully surprised to see her again, but the deep worry about her safety instantly darkened his face. "Why are you here, Lex? Kabul isn't safe, you need to go!" he stated, trying to get her away from the building.

"Shush, it's alright," she calmed him down, leading him away from the scene.

He didn't know he had died. For him it was still Afghanistan he was in, leading a mission, not knowing that he'd burned alive millions of times before.

"You don't have to fight anymore. War is over for you," she explained, grabbing him by the hand and holding tight.

"But," he looked back, watching his men standing there, fighting. "They need me. I can't leave them alone," he tried to get back, but couldn't break loose from her grip.

"No, you don't." She grabbed him, pulling him down to her with one hand and taking his helmet off with the other. She held him tight as she gently pressed her lips onto his, kissing him and, as their kiss deepened, breathed life back into him.

The memories crashed down onto him like a roaring wave. He screamed in pain, feeling as if something would smash the brain inside of his skull.

Lex held him, easily supporting his weight, as she let him slip down to the ground. She clasped her arm around him, his head resting right above her heart, rubbing his back and soothing his cries.

The pain subsided, and soon there were only the vivid memories left of what he had been through, both on earth and down here. He sighed, breathing deeply into his lungs, as he gathered his thoughts. "I died."

"Yup," she confirmed nonchalantly, kissing his forehead.

"And I'm in hell," he added, snuggling into her, his arms tightly wrapped around her, fearing she would disappear as soon as he'd let go.

Lex nodded, repeating, "Yup."

He worriedly looked up in her eyes. "Why are you here?"

"Long story," she dodged his question. "And we'll have all eternity for that." She looked down to him, winking and smiling.

"What happened?" he asked baffled, not understanding why he was with her and not getting his punishment.

She quickly thought about it before she stated, summing it up, "I got a hell of a promotion!"

/-/

Chloe awoke to the sound of cheerful chatter. She stretched herself, looking around. She was in her bed, alone, the covers tightly wrapped around her. It took some time until she remembered the events of the previous day.

Sighing heavily, she got up, wrapping a dressing gown around her. She walked out of the room and down the stairs, smelling the sweet fragrance of pancakes.

"Mummy!" Trixie greeted her with delight, putting a large piece of pancake into her mouth and munching on it audibly.

"Morning," she replied, still exhausted and not fully awake yet. Lucifer stood in front of the stove, swinging the wooden spoon. Yesterday, she hadn't had the strength to ask him why he suddenly was there or how he could enter her locked home without making a sound, but she was certain that she would have a proper talk with him today as soon as she got her daughter to school.

"Blueberries or chocolate chips?" Lucifer questioned cheerfully, holding up the bowl containing the fruits.

She looked at him, puzzled. Her mind was blank and refused to work and form the answer.

"She likes blueberries," Trixie answered for her, stuffing the last piece of her chocolate pancake into her mouth. She hopped down from the stool and rushed to her mother with outstretched arms.

Instinctively, Chloe bent down, catching her and picking her up.

Trixie fell around her neck, giving her a tight hug, before she explained, "Lucifer already told me, that you had a really rough day yesterday. And that you need a lot of hugs and kisses now, to make it better." She smiled heartedly, falling around her neck again, and kissing her dearly, before she got back down, rushing to her room and disappearing inside.

Lucifer's smile vanished, making room for his worry. "How are you feeling?" he asked her, concerned.

Chloe wrapped her arms around herself to make herself feel comfortable. "Like crap!" she replied briefly, thinking back. "I killed her." The tears welled up in her eyes again, and Lucifer felt a huge urge to wrap her up in a tight hug.

"Don't worry," he soothed her, rubbing across her back and letting go. "She's fine now where she is."

"How do you know?" Chloe's voice turned into a whisper at the words, and she inhaled deeply, stifling the feelings and blinking back her tears.

The smile on his lips reappeared, stretching them into a grin. "I'm the devil, remember?" He put the pancake onto a plate and held it towards her.

Chloe chuckled lowly, wiping away a tear that fell down her cheek and snuffling audibly. She took the plate, voicing a low "thanks", and went to the table, taking a seat.

o~o

 _3 weeks later_

o~o

Chloe paced back and forth, releasing some of the frustration she felt, while she attentively listened to the voice on the other end of the line of her mobile phone. "Dan, I know, but that wasn't the deal," she stated, biting back her anger as she listened further to his excuses. "Yes, I know, I'm still suspended, but you can't always put your work on top of all else!" He interrupted her and she listened to him a couple of seconds before she decided to speak up again. "Look, I'm meeting a very important informant today. You knew that! The appointment was set months ago. You were supposed to take her today." He interrupted her again, and this time Chloe shushed him. "Do you really expect me to take her with me?" Her daughter called from the top of a climbing castle and Chloe quickly looked up, waving at her, before she turned her attention back to her phone. He talked further, bringing up excuse after excuse, and she couldn't take it any longer. "Thank you for nothing," she hissed in frustration and ended the call, stepping back to the bench and letting herself drop down next to Lucifer.

"Well, isn't he charming detective _douche_ ," he emphasised the name he gave him with a disgusted undertone, "always so duteously," he stated, dripping with sarcasm.

"Not now, Lucifer," Chloe responded, clutching her head. "This is a mess. The deal was settled for months. If I don't meet him today, all the work from two departments was for nothing," she declared frustratedly.

Lucifer closed in, decreasing the little distance between them. "Are you still meeting him in that alley?"

Without looking up, Chloe nodded, confirming.

"Then it's alright. There is a café down the street, with lots of different cakes. We go there, and I wait with Trixie while you meet your snout. And in case something happens you just give me a call and I'll be there in an instant. Totally easy," he suggested, looking at her expectantly.

"You sure about that? You would have to bear with her for at least half an hour, and I know your dislike for children," she replied, hesitating to agree to his plan right away. She didn't like the thought of her daughter being so close to her work but feared she had no choice.

Lucifer nodded confidently, grinning at her. "Your offspring is fine. And they have plenty of chocolate cake to distract her," he countered with a wink.

Chloe sighed, thinking it through. She nodded, agreeing to his plan and thanking him with a smile.

/-/

"Alright, do you have everything you need?" Chloe asked worriedly, looking down to her daughter.

Trixie had a large piece of chocolate cake right in front of her, a hot cocoa to her right and a big spoon in her hand, already dug in into the soft dough. "Uh-huh," she commented, shoving the tasty pastry into her mouth. "'ave 'un," she mouthed, the cake blurring her words.

Chloe forced a smile onto her face. She wanted to assure her daughter that everything was alright, but the worry wouldn't leave her mind. She turned to Lucifer, who sat opposite to her daughter, a cup of hot coffee in front of him. "You call me when there's anything, alright? No matter what! You phone me right away," she insisted, getting nervous.

"Relax, Detective!" Lucifer shushed her, winking at the eight-year-old and flashing her a smile. "It's not the first time I have a date with your daughter," he teased, looking up to Chloe. His eyes became serious as he assured her once more, "We're fine. Now go to your appointment."

Chloe sighed, nodding towards him and patting his shoulder. She leant down to her daughter, kissing her head and whispering to her, "Mummy will be right back."

Trixie nodded her understanding, the cake was already half finished.

Chloe went to the door. She halted, turned around, and took a last look at her daughter and Lucifer before she exited the café.

Lucifer turned his attention back to Trixie, watching her eat and drink. He took a sip from his coffee. "Your mummy really needs to relax more," he commented, smirking.

"She needs a massage," Trixie replied, washing the cake down with a large gulp of her cocoa.

His eyes widened with interest. "What makes you think that?"

"When daddy is stressed, he always goes to a woman to get a massage. Then comes back and is totally relaxed," she explained, elongating the second last word.

Lucifer grinned slyly at that piece of information. "Does he?" he stated, taking the teaspoon and stealing a bit from her cake.

"Hey!" Trixie protested, but the big smile on her face instantly revealed that she was rather amused.

Lucifer chuckled, he was about to get into a spoon fight with her over the last piece, when suddenly the ear-shattering sound of squealing tyres went through the area, followed by a heavy bang and something that shattered to pieces. A sharp pain pierced through his heart, and for a moment he couldn't breathe. It went from the centre through his whole body, and suddenly his mind carried only one thought.

He sprang up, hastily ordering a waitress to take care of Trixie, before he rushed out of the café and dashed down the street.

There was a large crowd in front of him and he pushed himself through with force, not caring if he hurt anyone in the process.

The scene that was presented in front of him was devastating: A motorcycle laid demolished on the streets, the biker had flown several metres away and landed in the windscreen of another car, but this all became stale as he got sight of Chloe, lying on the streets, half of her head covered in blood, her eyes staring blankly up at the sky. He rushed to her side, grabbing her shoulders and shaking them in despair, but he already knew that her soul was long gone.

He stared at her, with eyes and mouth wide open, grabbing her dead body and hugging her tight. His brain finally being able to function, he turned his head heavenwards. "Why did you take her away from me?" he screamed at him from the depths of his lungs.

Lucifer wanted to scream more, let loose a tirade when suddenly the voice of a child reached his ears.

"Let me through! I want my mummy! Where is my mummy!" Trixie cried, punching at the people to make room for her.

He quickly got up, turned around and headed towards her, grabbing her before she could see anything and holding her tightly pressed against his chest.

"I want my mummy! Where is my mummy? MUMMY!" Trixie screamed at him in despair as he carried her away from the scene, unable to speak himself.

/-/

Lucifer sat on the edge of an ambulance vehicle, holding Trixie tightly embraced in his arms. Her initial deafening screams had soon turned into faint whimpers, calling for her mum over and over again. He rubbed across her back, trying to comfort her.

Dan came running towards them, stopped in front of Lucifer and took Trixie out of his arms.

As she spotted him, her whimpers turned back into uncontrollable sobbing. "Daddy! I want my mummy!" she cried, clutching her arms firmly around his neck.

"Shush, monkey, I'm here now," he tried to soothe her. His gentle voice turned into an angry blame as he turned his attention to Lucifer. "Why didn't you protect her?" he hissed lowly.

"I was busy taking care of a very important person because someone couldn't fulfil his duties," Lucifer replied calmly, but the anger was visible in his eyes, making clear that he wouldn't put on that shoe.

Dan froze at the rebuke, shielding his face from Lucifer's dark stare. "I'll take her home," he commented quietly and quickly left.

/-/

The doors of the elevator sprung open and Lucifer entered his apartment in silence.

Maze looked up from the couch, an apple in her hand, she'd peeled with her dagger only moments ago. "Everything alright?" she questioned, puzzled about his odd mood.

"Perfect!" he snidely remarked and went directly to his bar, taking the Bourbon and pouring himself a glass. He eyed the auburn liquid, watching it move in circles as he swayed the glass in his hand. A memory came back into his mind, showing him the last time he'd held the whisky in his hands to admire its colour.

The anger built up inside of him and he smashed the glass against the cabinet with all the force he could manage.

Maze was startled at the sound, looking up confused and flabbergasted. "What is wrong?" She asked perplexed, not knowing that her words broke down the wall in him and he lost himself in a rage.

He punched against the wall, smashing all the liquor and sending it shattering to the ground, throwing the pieces he got hold of through the room. "Why do you hate me so much?" he screamed from the depths of his lungs to no one in particular, as he turned his anger to the things that weren't destroyed yet.

"Stop!" Maze screamed over the noise, being at a loss of what she should do.

Lucifer turned towards her, his eyes burning with fire. "Shut up!" he yelled back, turning his anger back to the furniture and letting it all out.

"That's it! I'm done!" Maze commented, taking out her phone and crouching down behind the couch, shielding her head from the flying objects. "Hey, it's me, Maze. You need to come. Right now! He's crackers!" she spoke, listening closely before ending the call.

/-/

"Alright, what's -" Linda came rushing into the apartment but stopped abruptly as she spotted the chaos. "- up," she ended, gaping in disbelief.

The only thing being still in one piece was the large couch. Maze sat on it and stood up with a grumpy look on her face. "He's in the bedroom now," she commented, pointing with her thumb over her shoulder.

His screams got louder the closer Linda approached him. "Lucifer, can you tell me, what is making you angry?" she questioned, her voice as calm as possible.

"Get out!" he yelled at her, turning his attention back to the clothes he'd taken out of the wardrobe, tearing them apart before throwing them to the ground.

Linda took several steps back, just to be on the safe side. She turned around, facing Maze. "Did he say anything since he arrived?"

"' _Perfect'_ ," she recalled dryly, adding, "That was before he decided to re-decorate the living room."

Linda nodded, the wheels in her head already turning. She was about to get back into the bedroom as Maze stated the second thing he'd voiced.

"' _Why do you hate me so much?_ ' That's what he said after he destroyed all the liquor," she informed her.

Again, Linda nodded, putting two and two together. She stepped back towards the bedroom, calmly asking him, "Lucifer, are you upset about Detective Decker?"

He stopped in his tirade, turning around and shooting daggers at her. "Don't you dare to ever mention her name again!" He got louder with every word and screamed the last two at her, turning back around to free his anger.

"Well," she stepped back to Maze, lowering her voice as she questioned, "Did he and the Detective have a fight?"

Maze shrugged her shoulders. "Don't know, but I can find out." She took her phone back into her hand, dialling the number and stepping further away to be able to listen to the other end, as he started to scream his head off again.

Linda attentively watched Maze talking quietly into the speaker and freezing as she listened to a voice, only nodding from time to time before she ended the call. Then, Maze quickly stepped back to Linda's side. Assuming it was her Maze had spoken to, Linda questioned, "What did the Detective say?"

"Nothing. Chloe died in an accident two hours ago," Maze informed her, staring blankly towards the bedroom.

"Oh, dear!" Linda gasped in shock, finally understanding his behaviour to the fullest.

Suddenly it went quiet and Lucifer appeared in the door frame. He had tears in his eyes, trails of them on his cheeks and one of them on the finger-tip he'd used to wipe them off with. Showing it towards the psychiatrist, he questioned, baffled, "What happens to me?"

"Oh I'm so, so sorry about your loss, Lucifer," Linda replied, full of sympathy for her patient. She looked at the tear on his finger, explaining calmly, "You're crying, Lucifer."

"That's not possible!" he half shouted the last word, losing himself back into his emotions as he yelled, "The devil doesn't cry!"

"You're mourning her death," she replied, trying to soothe him.

He broke down, gasping for air and clutching the blanket from his bed as more and more tears fled his eyes. "Make it go away!" he cried, barely able to bear the pain inside of him any longer.

/-/

Lex was delighted when she saw the crowd of souls standing in the distance and increased her pace to get to them. She couldn't imagine a better way to spend her afterlife as she slowly walked towards the new arrivals, looking down on the card Lucifer had given her. Its inscription changed at every lost soul she addressed it to, showing the sins they'd done to get down to hell, and helping her in her decision of whether she let them live through their personal nightmares or chose to punish them herself.

She still remembered the sparkle in her eyes when Maze showed her the torture equipment she'd gathered up throughout the centuries and explained to her how to use them.

She stepped forward, looking around all the souls that came today, a faint smile playing across her lips in anticipation of what she would do to each one of them.

Oh, how she loved her new job!

Suddenly, one particular soul caught her eye, her familiar features bringing back the memories of a life that was long gone. In an instant, she was at her side, eyeing her suspiciously. She didn't know why she was down here in hell. The Detective was a good person, a good soul, that was for certain! She definitely didn't belong to this place. Gazing down at her card, she silently read the words the black letters had formed.

' _Murder of Alexis Ramsey._ '

"You can't be serious," she mumbled under her breath, feeling the anger building up about the one that looked down on her from above. She let her head fall back, screaming upwards at him, "Really?! For that you send her down here? Damn God! She was supposed to bring me down! It was her job to stop me!" She stomped her foot in frustration, grabbed the soul and pulled her out of the mess, bringing her to a place where the other souls couldn't harm her. Something she'd learned really quickly within the first days of her arrival: When no one took care of the souls, dividing them and torturing them, they quickly turned against each other. And hell, she would make sure that Chloe couldn't be harmed any further.

Lex turned around, calling for Ian. When he reached her side, she ordered, "Go and get Lucifer down here!"

"You're aware that he will torture you to dea-," he stopped, realising his mistake, and quickly changed his words, "well, all eternity when you disturb him just because of one damn soul?" he questioned, staring at her. Yes, now she was more powerful than him, his boss somehow, and could make him obey to anything even if he didn't want to, but he still felt protective of her and didn't want her to get into trouble.

Lex shook her head, understanding his worry. "It's different with her," she explained to him.

Ian looked at her, raising one eyebrow in disbelief. "Why?"

"Just like you're mine, she's his. Now get him down here, please," she ordered again, her voice gentle.

He nodded his understanding and this time, he obeyed.

* * *

 **A/N:** Heyyyy, we've finally reached the summary. Congratulations! I hope you had fun reading it. In the next chapter we'll find out how Lucifer is coping with her loss and what happens when Ian meets him on earth.

Have a nice day!

:o)


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Hello my dear readers. As promised, the upload today. Now I'm finally back on my 'Every-second-day'-upload rhythm. I hope you like the chapter.

 **Edit:** Now **beta-read** by Daemon. All remaining mistakes are my own. Feel free to point them out :D

Enjoy!

* * *

"Well, don't you want to talk about anything?" Linda questioned cautiously, interrupting the silence that had fallen onto them since he entered her room.

Lucifer shrugged his shoulders, staring absent-mindedly out of the window. More moments of silence fell onto them until he decided to answer her, "What do you want to hear?" His voice was calm but filled with refusal. He wouldn't have come here in the first place if Maze hadn't suddenly dropped him off in front of the door, telling him she would be back in an hour and disappeared. He only went inside because he couldn't bear all the humans out there, continuing their day as if nothing had happened; because the world out there didn't stop from turning, not realising that the most important piece was missing.

"Maybe how you feel about the funeral that is today?" she suggested, bringing him out of his daze. She watched him attentively, not missing the slight jerk of his eyes at the f-word.

"There is nothing to say about it," he answered cutting, adding quietly, "And nothing to feel either."

"Lucifer, I know that it's been only a couple of days since the accident, and I understand your pain-" she started but was cut off mid-sentence.

"You don't understand my pain, doctor!" he countered reproachfully, glowering at her. "You pathetic little humans with your pathetic little thoughts, pretending to understand the universe around you, but all you do in reality is push your stupid rules and narrowed minds on top of each other, trying to control everything but not wanting to see that all you do with that is causing even more chaos."

Linda sighed, reminding him calmly, "Lucifer, it was an accident."

His eyed darkened. "How can this be an accident when someone thinks that driving 80 miles per hour is justifiable in a place where only 35 are allowed. Simply accepting that his reckless behaviour would kill the most innocent, the most precious," he stopped, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat before he went on, "human in this world."

"Well, according to the police report, the biker died as well," Linda recalled, watching her words carefully.

Lucifer nodded, biting back the anger that wanted to leave him. "And he was damn lucky he did. I would have loved to punish him before I'd dragged him down to hell myself."

"The police report also said that Detective Decker wouldn't have been harmed if she hadn't run and pushed that elderly woman out of the way," Linda informed him, hoping that with making him see that all this was just an unfortunate accident, he could let go of some of the pain.

Lucifer smiled in sadness and anger, looking aside to avoid the therapist's gaze, as he stated bitterly, "Yeah! My little Detective, always trying to help others, even if it kills her."

Linda sighed again. "You know, if it's too soon for you, if you think that you can't endure it," she started, trying to verbally wrap him up in cotton wool. "Nobody would think less of you if you don't go to the funeral."

"I don't care what other people think of me," he countered angrily, shaking his head and clenching his fists. "There is nothing in this world to make me stay anymore," he halted again, gazing out of the window before he added, "I only go there to say goodbye to Trixie, and then I go back to hell."

"Don't you want to give it a second thought? Maybe after a week or so?" she recommended, hoping that he didn't rush his fences.

"No! I'm done here." He stared at her, full of anger. Sorrow flashed through his eyes, bringing back the tears. He quickly wiped them away with this hands, crying out in frustration, "I hate these damn feelings!"

/-/

"Don't you wanna go nearer?" Maze questioned, observing him out of the corner of her eye.

Lucifer leant against a big oak tree, its long branches and leaves shielded him from the lacking sun. His arms were folded in front of his chest, sunglasses covered his eyes, and a stern expression the emotions he actually felt. "I see enough from here," he answered brusquely.

Gun salutes resounded through the air, followed by bagpipe players tuning into the song 'Going Home'.

"I never understood anyway why these humans mourn a body in a casket that has already started to decay," she replied nonchalantly, pretending not to see his hand moving up and wiping away the tears that had fallen down his cheeks.

The people stood up, gathering their things and getting ready to leave. Dan was dressed in his formal police uniform, walking along the way and holding tight onto the hand of Trixie, who was dressed in a black ribbon dress with cream-coloured polka dots. They turned right when they reached the fork, heading for the cars.

Trixie looked up and got sight of Lucifer. Her sad face turned into a bright smile and she struggled with a force beyond her young age to get loose from her father's grip. As she got free, she ran towards him as fast as she could. Calling loudly, when she was within earshot, "Lucifer!"

She ran into his arms, holding tight onto him as he picked her up. "Lucifer, are you the real devil?" she whispered into his ear, straightening herself and grabbing his sunglasses, taking them off to properly see his face. His red eyes coming to light didn't lessen her radiant smile in any way.

"Yes I am," he whispered back, a faint smile appearing on his lips as he hugged her once more.

Trixie grinned with delight at his answer. "So, that means you are an angel, right?"

He nodded, confirming.

Her smile increased even more and her eyes started to sparkle like little diamonds. "That means you can fly up to heaven and get me my mummy back? Yeah, would you do that? Please, Lucifer, bring me my mummy back. Please!" she begged him, her face getting desperate.

"I can't," he denied sadly, new tears welled up in his eyes as he heard her soft cries. "I burned my wings."

"You have to bring me my mummy back. Please, Lucifer, please!" she begged again, ignoring his words.

"Sorry," Dan apologised as he reached them, grabbing around his daughter and pulling her away from Lucifer. He had to drag her with more force than he'd liked to. Trixie held onto Lucifer so tightly as if he was her lifeline, not wanting to let go, while she repeated her pleading.

"'s alright," Lucifer replied, quickly putting his sunglasses back on.

Dan held tight onto his struggling daughter, explaining, "She's like this since she talked to the grief counsellor, repeating over and over again that you're the devil and that you bring her mum back."

"You can't bring back people from the dead," Maze interjected, giving her master room to compose himself.

"That's what I told her," Dan affirmed, nodding his goodbye, and walked away.

Lucifer sighed when the two disappeared inside a car. "Come on! I'm done," he commented and turned around, walking into the opposite direction.

The further they walked, the lower the sound of the bagpipes became, and soon they were wrapped in a silence not even the birds dared to disturb.

Maze stepped next to his side, warning him under her breath, "We're being followed."

Lucifer suppressed the urge to turn around, continuing his walk as if he hadn't heard anything, asking her lowly, "Who?"

"A guy in a black uniform," she answered, gesturing him to keep on walking while she disappeared to the left.

Lucifer turned towards the stone houses, containing the rotten bodies of whole families. He slowed down his pace. ' _Whoever that guy is, he'd chosen the worst day possible_ ,' he thought, clenching his fists and making himself ready to let out the pent-up anger.

When the man was only some steps away from him, Maze sprang out of her hideout, grabbing him around the neck and holding him tight as Lucifer turned around with fiery red eyes, punching against his chest with a force not from this world. She heard bones crack and the man cry out in pain, knowing that Lucifer must have hit the spine. But the man wasn't dead, instead, he panted heavily, croaking with the last air left in his lungs, "Lex sent me."

Lucifer stopped his second punch in mid-air, straightening himself in surprise. His eyes turned back to their brown colour. "What does she want?" he grumbled, gesturing Maze to let go of him.

Ian composed himself, taking a deep breath before he answered, "You need to get back to hell, it's urgent."

"We wanted to go there anyway," Maze tossed in but was quickly shushed by her master with a move of his hand.

"Tell her that I don't care if she has problems with the souls down there," he hissed, annoyed.

"Just one soul," Ian corrected, looking him sincerely in the eyes.

"Shall I make sure he understands the meaning of 'do not disturb'?" Maze suggested, cracking her knuckles and eyeing him with a thrill of anticipation.

Lucifer shook his head slowly, attentively gazing at him. Memories filled his mind, telling him quickly who he was dealing with. "What soul, soldier boy?" he questioned calmly, feeling a bit pleased as he spotted the brief glare Ian gave him at his choice of words.

"Lex said, this soul is yours," he talked in riddles.

Maze looked at Ian, flabbergasted. "Did I choke you too hard? What do you mean with that?"

Ian ignored her, his eyes were fixed onto the devil who stared at him gaping in bewilderment. He could almost see the penny finally dropping.

' _Chloe!_ ' The word ran through Lucifer's mind, sending shock waves through his body. The anger inside of him built up again. He yelled at him with a deep dark voice, "Why didn't you say that right away?"

* * *

 **A/N:** That's it for today. :D I hope you liked it. Feel free to press the little button and leave a comment below. Read you in two days! Till then.

Have a nice day!

:o)


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Hello my dear readers. Thank you everyone for putting this story to their favorites and / or on alert. I highly appreciate that there are so many of you who like it :D And thank you to my guest reviewers for their review. I always love to read your thoughts on the chapter :D Here comes the next one.

 **Edit-1:** Thank you Lisa1972 for pointing out that save/safe mix-up :D  
 **Edit-2:** Now **beta-read** by Daemon. All remaining mistakes are mine. Please feel free to point them out ;)

Enjoy!

* * *

"Where is she?" Lucifer yelled at the top of his lungs as he pushed open the door to his private chambers, causing its big wooden leaves to bang loudly against the walls.

"Nice to see you, too," Lex replied in a friendly manner, greeting him with a smile and adding, "About time you show up." She rushed to Ian, welcoming him with a tender kiss.

Lucifer looked around, recognising the many fireplaces around the room. "Why is it so hot in here?"

"I was cold," she answered nonchalantly.

"In hell?" he retorted sceptically.

"What shall I say, I like it cosy," Lex countered, a wicked smile flashed across her face.

He disappeared into the other rooms, searching for the woman he went back to hell for. Not finding her, he walked back to Lex, repeating his question with a menacing undertone, emphasising each word, "Where. Is. Chloe?"

"Follow me," Lex singsonged and exited through the big double door.

/-/

It was quite a distance they had to walk before they entered the area with the personal hells. Lex headed directly towards the specific one. She had walked this way so often, she could do it in her sleep by now and was very pleased that finally Lucifer had arrived to take Chloe back with him.

The worry for her inside of Lucifer's chest increased with every step they walked further. And as they stopped in front of an area darkened by heavy clouds that let the rain beat down to the ground like a monsoon, and he made out the figure in the back, soaking wet from the cold rain and dirty from the soil, desperately digging with her bare hands into the mud, his heart stopped beating. He sighed with sorrow and ran his fingers through his hair to stop himself from running to her right away. He knew souls, especially those who were as precious and fragile as Chloe's. If he would startle her, frighten her, she could be destroyed forever, vanishing from this place as if she had never existed. He couldn't risk that. Not with her.

He turned to Lex, scolding her, "Why did you let her here?"

Lex shook her head in contradiction, elucidating, "I tried to keep her away from here. The first couple of hundred times I brought her to my place, but each morning she was gone and I found her back here, punishing herself. One day I decided to let her, and then I came here every day to cease her memory so it wouldn't feel that long until you arrive."

"But why didn't you hinder her from leaving?" he hissed, keeping his voice as low as possible.

Lex stared at him, flabbergasted. "What? Did you expect me to tie her up in chains and hang her on the wall?"

Lucifer quickly shook his head, seeing reason. He looked towards Chloe, hoping that it wasn't too late; that the punishment she'd given herself hadn't done too much damage.

"I'd liked that idea," Maze tossed in, a wide grin on her face.

He turned towards her, his eyes fiery red, showing the sheer anger he felt at her careless words. It was Chloe she was talking about, his Chloe, she should show at least some respect; if not for her, then at least for him.

Without a word, Lucifer turned towards Chloe's hell and walked ahead, slowly approaching to not startle her, and stopped as he was at her side, squatting down and gently laying a hand on her shoulder to get her attention.

Chloe jerked slightly at the touch, looking up. "Lucifer? Quick, help me," she said as she recognised him, turning her face back to the ground and continuing with digging her fingers into it, shoving the soil away until the hole was deep enough and new soil slid down, filling it completely and putting her work back to the start.

"Chloe, what are you doing here?" he whispered gently to her. The rain poured down on him, quickly soaking him wet, and once again he was glad he didn't have to endure human weaknesses like getting a cold or the flu.

"Trixie is down here, she can't breathe under all this soil. I need to find her. I need to save her," she cried frantically digging even faster through the dirt.

He shook his head and carefully placed his hands on top of hers to make her stop and look back up. "She's not here. She's safe. You can stop now."

"No, she's down here. I saw her getting swallowed by the soil, but nobody wanted to help me. Please, you need to help me. I can't let my daughter die," she pleaded, pulling her hands away and continuing with the digging.

Lucifer stopped her once again, taking her hands into his and gently holding tight. "They already found her, she is safe. Come, I'll bring you to her." He didn't like lying to her but felt he had no other choice. She wouldn't have listened to him otherwise.

Chloe stared at him in desperation. "She really is safe?" Her voice cracked as tears streamed down her face.

"Yes," he confirmed confidently. "She is safe. Come on. You need to get out of the rain."

They stood up and he led her to the others, holding her firmly by the hand. As they stepped out of her personal hell, the little area disappeared behind them, swallowed by an invisible force.

"Where is Trixie? Bring me to her," Chloe pleaded him, sparing no thought at the others standing there, or the sudden change of surrounding.

Lucifer put his free arm around her, gently pressing her against his body and moving his thumb in circles across her upper arm, caressing the cold skin beneath. "I'll bring you to her, soon. Don't worry. Just remember, she is safe." He turned towards the others, informing them. "I'll take her back to earth."

Lex nodded, smiling approvingly. "I thought so."

"You do realise that she doesn't have a body anymore?" Maze spoke up, addressing the elephant in the room.

Lucifer wanted to say something, but stopped mid-way, leaving his lips slightly apart. The no-body-part really was a problem he hadn't thought about. He looked at Maze, his face emotionless, and suddenly an idea struck him. His eyes beamed at the ultimate solution of how he could save her. He looked back at Chloe, and his lips curled up into a smile as he answered, "She doesn't need to. I'll make her my demon."

"What?!" Maze's eyes almost popped out of their holes in bewilderment. She quickly narrowed them as the anger about his rash decision bubbled up, and she panted with rage, clutching her fists to prevent herself from punching him as she retorted furiously, "Don't you already have enough of that kind?"

Lucifer pressed Chloe tightly against himself, covering her visible ear with his hand to shield her from the outcry. He turned around, his eyes burning with fire and his face dark as hell as he countered in a low, but threatening voice, "Mazikeen! You're in no position to argue with me about that." He turned his attention back to the precious soul in his arms, making sure that she was unharmed. Sighing with relief as he saw her blankly staring into the distance. "Chloe," he whispered softly, bringing her out of her daze.

Chloe looked up into his eyes, repeating as if she hadn't heard anything of the conversation. "Where is Trixie? Bring me to her."

He smiled at her, taking her chin in his hand. He was about to lower himself down, as Lex interrupted him, quickly holding him back, objecting, "Wow! Slow down, cowboy. Bad idea!"

"Why?" Lucifer snapped at her, keeping the volume of his voice at bay.

"I still remember very clearly when you turned me into a demon. I know I didn't show it, but it was a hell of a fright to see these souls around me, especially the ones who were tortured when we walked to your chambers. And I _did_ know I was in hell and all that." She halted, taking a breath. "And when I turned Ian, he instantly broke down, receiving all the pain of his memories, all at once. He had nightmares for the first couple of centuries. Do you really want the detective to experience the same thing? I mean, I know, suddenly remembering her death and the time in hell will still be a handful for her, but you could at least spare her seeing the magnitude of your little torture paradise, don't you think?"

Lucifer sighed and nodded his agreement. She was right. Chloe didn't need to see how hell looked, even if she was right in the middle of it. He released her from his tight embrace, taking her hand again, and was about to lead her back to his chambers, as suddenly Ian stepped behind her, quickly moving his arms around her, pressing some points on her shoulder and neck.

Chloe instantly slumped down unconscious, and it was only thanks to Ian's fast reflexes that she didn't fell to the ground, but landed safely in his strong arms.

For a second, Lucifer stared shocked at the scene in front of him, before his senses snapped back and he yelled furiously at the soldier, "What the hell are you doing?"

In an instant, Lex stood between her boyfriend and Lucifer, raising her arms, preventing him from getting harmed and calming her master down, "Chloe is alright. She's just sleeping. Trust me. No one is here to harm her."

Lucifer panted with rage but kept himself under control. He'd love nothing more than to incinerate this little mischief and her demon then and there with the fire that burned only in hell, but he restrained himself. Chloe could be harmed in the process, and to avoid any harm on her was his top priority. He huffed, pushing his second-in-command out of the way as he stepped forward to her little helper, and gently but firmly took Chloe out of his grip. Holding her bridal style, he walked back to his chambers, not caring if the others kept up with his pace or not.

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 **A/N** : You've reached the end for now :D Hope you liked it and please make me happy and press that little button below :D

Have a nice day!

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	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Hello my dear readers. Here comes the next chapter. I hope you like it. Thanks to everyone for putting this to their favourites and / or story alert. :D

Edit: This chapter **is** **now** **beta-read** thanks to Daemon. Any remaining mistakes are my own :D

Enjoy!

* * *

Lucifer entered the bedroom and carefully laid her down on the king size bed, wrapping the sheets around her to dry off her clothes and give her comfort.

"Aren't you glad now that I lightened the fires in here?" Lex teased him as she entered the room.

He ignored her and sat down next to his sleeping beauty. He bent over her, opening her mouth by lightly pressing her jaw, and lowered his upper body down until his mouth was an inch above hers.

He breathed life into her and Chloe inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with air as she slowly woke up. Her body trembled from the cold and for a moment she looked around, confused.

Then the memories came crashing down on her.

She screamed in pain, feeling the hit of the motorbike as if it had just happened, and her body flying through the air, hitting the ground head first, and breaking her skull. Every nerve inside her body sent impulses to her brain and she felt as if she was on fire. It hurt to breathe, but yet she felt as if breathing was the only thing that worked on full speed. She couldn't control her shaking limbs. As the memories of her seeing Trixie getting swallowed by dark soil right in front of her and not being able to save her in time came back into her mind, she could have sworn her heart stopped beating. She yelled out the name that was on the tip of her tongue, releasing the pain that came from deep down within her, "TRIXIE!"

Lucifer instantly embraced her into a tight hug, trying to comfort her. "Shh! She is fine. Don't worry, that was just hell punishing you," he assured her, soothingly running his hand across her back. He'd seen enough souls getting turned into demons to know how painful it was, and how diverse each of these turns had been. It never bothered him before, but seeing _her_ in such agony, he almost couldn't bear it.

Chloe took more breaths and it seemed that the pain ceased. Her body started to bend to her will, and she moved her legs and arms. Trying to get up, she held onto the person that was closest to her. Her eyes started to function again, and she focused on the dark brown ceiling right above her, illuminated by a magnificent chandelier that reminded her of those constructed in Renaissance times. She lowered her gaze and stared into familiar dark brown eyes. "Lucifer!" she stated, gripping him firmer, as a fright went through her.

"Welcome back," he greeted her relieved, flashing her the brightest smile he could manage.

"Where am I? What happened?" Chloe questioned confused, letting him help her fully sit up. She looked around, recognising Lex standing in the back next to a man whose face had familiar features, but she couldn't pin him down. "You're dead!" She cried out at the young woman, frightening even more and Lucifer tightened his grip around her, soothing her again.

"So are you," Maze stated dryly, earning a derogatory glare and a low growl from her master.

Unable to hear her words, Chloe repeated with a more insistent voice this time, staring at him, "Lucifer, where am I?"

He sighed, knowing he couldn't avoid this answer. Talking as calmly as possible, he explained, "You died, Chloe. And you're in hell. We all are at the moment."

"No! That's not true!" She contradicted quickly, pushing him away from her, and shying away. She stared at him with wide fearful eyes, shaking her head in disbelieve. "I'm not dead. I... I don't," she stuttered, running out of words. Her mind was blank. There were still the memories inside her head from the bike running her over, the impact, the fall, Trixie disappearing in the soil. "Trixie! Where is Trixie?" she suddenly shouted, the worry for her daughter overpowering any other feelings or thoughts.

"As I said, Trixie is fine. She is safe and I will bring you to her," Lucifer explained calmly to her, once again.

"But I saw -" she started, but was cut off by him.

"What you saw were your deepest fears chosen by hell to punish you," Lucifer clarified. "You were dead, but I breathed life back into you. You are in hell at the moment, but you will return to earth, with me."

"No! No! No! No!" Chloe repeated, vehemently shaking her head. "That's not true! I'm not dead. I... I can feel myself. I can see you. No!" She shook her head again, shying further away from him.

"You had an accident and died," Maze confirmed, leaning against a wall and watching the scene with a mixture of boredom and amusement. She knew some demons had trouble accepting what happened, and this denial sometimes lasted for several years, but on the other hand, it gave her a decent delight to see the otherwise tough detective having what seemed to become a mental break down.

"No! No!" Chloe denied once more, feeling a deep distress rising up inside of her. "No! This is a dream, right? This is just a dream, and I will wake up soon."

Lex shook her head, approaching her and asking calmly, "Chloe, you do remember the accident, right?" Seeing her nodding, she went on, "Then tell us, what happened after the accident?"

Chloe took some deep breaths, recalling her memories, "There was this elderly woman on the streets, and this motorbike drove too fast, heading for her. I screamed and pushed her out of the way, and I, I got hit by the bike." She inhaled again, sorting the pictures in her head. "I flew through the air and fell back down. And then I hit my head. God, this pain. It hurt so much."

Lucifer squinted his eyes, annoyed at the mention of his father's name, but he didn't toss in his usual remarks. Chloe needed to understand that she was dead, so he listened attentively, hoping that Lex's attempt to make her realise it succeeded.

"I felt my skull break and shatter," Chloe recalled, feeling a big lump in her throat as she continued. "And then my head wasn't hard anymore, it felt limp and, and squashy." She stopped, feeling nausea arising inside of her. Her breaths increased and she needed a moment to suppress the urge to throw up.

"What happened after that?" Lex questioned calmly.

"It went white," Chloe answered, seeing it directly before her inner eye. "Everything around me went white and then dark, and I felt like falling again, and, and, and -" she trailed off, sorting her thoughts and suddenly looking up with eyes wide with shock, staring at Lex. "You were there! You picked me up. There were other people around me. They wanted to hurt me, but you pulled me away. You brought me here," Chloe looked around, suddenly recognising the room. "I was cold and shivered and you brought me covers and lit some fires," she recalled. "And then I was in the rain, and I saw Trixie getting swallowed by the ground." She looked around again, her gaze riveting on Lucifer. Fearing that speaking it out loud could make the room collapse down on her, she whispered, "I really died?"

Lucifer leant forward, gently taking her hand in his, caressing her fingers and answering soothingly. "Yes, Chloe, you died."

Tears welled up in her eyes and she covered her mouth, stifling the cries that wanted to leave her throat. "No! Trixie!" she whined. "What happened to Trixie?"

"She is fine," he assured her, adding, "Considering the circumstances."

"Did she?" Chloe wanted to know, but couldn't bring the sentence to an end.

"No," Lucifer shook his head, giving her hand a tender squeeze. "Trixie didn't see how you died. I shielded her view and held her in my arms until Dan arrived and took her away."

Hearing his words made her sigh with relief. At least her daughter was spared that kind of trauma. A moment passed as she remembered one of the first sentences he'd told her. "You said, I would see her again?"

"Yes, we'll go back to earth," Lucifer confirmed.

"But how?" she questioned, slightly tilting her head and staring at him again with wide doe eyes.

"We'll go through the gates of hell and up to earth," Maze chimed in, hoping to bring these lengthy questions and answers to an end. There were souls out there, ready to be punished, and she'd have loved nothing more than to do that right then. But no! She had to stay here and listen to this ongoing 'You're dead – I'm not'-fuss, and it bored her to the core.

"Hell?" Chloe cried out but didn't let the others room to answer. "Hell! Right! Lex!" She looked up, addressing the young woman. "Lex I'm so sorry. I didn't want to kill you. I just didn't know how to stop you."

"It's alright, detective," the demon confirmed, stating nonchalantly, "You did what you needed to do, and I went exactly where I wanted to be." She chuckled lightly, as she added, "After all, I'm kinda running hell now."

"You're the devil?" Chloe asked in disbelief, she didn't even know how she stated the question without stumbling on words.

A displeased harrumph was heard, and Lex shook her head. Chuckling in amusement, she pointed towards her master.

"Detective Decker," Lucifer addressed her with full title, slightly miffed. "How often do I have to tell you that I am the devil until you finally believe me?"

"You're the devil?" Chloe counterquestioned, doubt arising in her again. "Yes, right. I'm dead, I'm in hell and you're the devil," she summed it up, chuckling at her own words. This was too bizarre.

He frowned and squinted his eyes in anger. "You can accept that you're dead and in hell, but not that I'm the devil?"

"You were with me, on earth. I saw you getting hurt. You bled. You're not the devil," she concluded, her mind strictly refusing to believe it.

"And how do you think did we end up down here?" Maze questioned, enraged. Damn, this woman really could give one a hard time.

"You must have died as well, somehow," she declared, trying to reason it with her own logic.

Lucifer shook his head. "I was down here since the beginning of time! My father cast me out of heaven and forced me to rule in hell."

Chloe shook her head insistently, she couldn't believe it. She didn't want to. No! The man she trusted, the man she grew fond of over the time they worked together, the man who protected her and was so gentle to her daughter. He was not the devil. No! He wasn't the monster that tortured people for his own pleasure. No matter how weird he sometimes was. She refused to believe that.

Lucifer sighed again. She baulked against the truth with every cell of her body. He puffed lightly, knowing he had no other choice than to show her. "Chloe, look at me," he demanded calmly but firmly.

Slowly she glanced upwards, resting on his dark eyes that seemed to pierce directly through hers.

"I am the devil," he stated, revealing his eyes burning with fire to her.

Chloe screamed out, gaping at him, her eyes wide in shock. "No!" She shied further away from him until she felt the wall in her back.

Lucifer bent forward, trying to grab her hand, but she sprang to her feet. "Don't touch me!" she screamed in fear and darted forward, trying to get away.

"Chloe, stop!" he yelled after her, his voice dark and his eyes burning.

In an instant, Chloe stopped. It seemed as if her body didn't obey her anymore, she couldn't move. Feeling trapped like a deer in headlights, the fear inside of her grew. "What is this?" Her voice was shaking.

"You're my demon now, Chloe. Your body is obeying to my word," Lucifer explained coldly, getting off the bed and stepping in front of her. He raised his hand to touch her cheek, but seeing her fearful eyes, he stopped in his movement. "I will never do you any harm, Chloe," he whispered softly, waving with his hand and ending his spell.

Chloe collapsed to the ground, quickly crawling backwards until she felt the wall again, pressed against her back. She tucked up her legs under her chin and clasped her arms around them, softly rocking back and forth as the anxiety caused her a shiver. "It's a dream. It's all just a dream," she repeated her mantra, pressing her eyes shut.

Lucifer walked back to the bed, taking a seat. He'd wanted to hold her, but seeing her being terrified of him, brought him to his wit's end. He felt a sting in his heart again and a dull pain surrounding the area. He didn't know how to handle this, the whole situation, and the urge to flee the room rose inside of him, but he restrained. He would never leave Chloe alone, especially not when she was so vulnerable like now.

Ian whispered into Lex's ear, "May I try?" As he saw her nod, he stepped forward to Chloe, crouching down in front of her. "Hello, Chloe. My name is Ian," he warmly introduced himself.

Chloe looked up, her mind slowly started to work again. "You're the soldier who got killed, right?"

He nodded, smiling in a friendly manner. "I know how you feel right now. It was pretty hard for me in the beginning, after Lex turned me into a demon. The memories, the new surroundings, the tortured souls outside. But the hardest for me was when Lex told me about what she did to get down here; to get to me. All these people she hurt in such a brutal way. And then the sparkle she had in her eyes when she tortured the souls that had deserved it the most. I thought this could never be my lovely Lex I'd known for so many years. I was scared. At first, I thought I was scared of her, but then I realised it was only because I feared that she'd changed into someone I couldn't love anymore. But that wasn't true. She's still the lovely little girl I've met. The girl that was so shy and scared of the world and couldn't trust anyone. The girl that slowly had learned that not all men were evil. The girl that trusted me and felt safe with me." He sighed briefly, recalling the moment Lex had told him about everything. "You've worked with Lucifer, right?"

Chloe nodded. Her fear had subsided, leaving only sorrow in her eyes.

"Did you trust him when you worked with him? Did you like him?" he questioned softly, making the devil prick his ears.

"I knew he would protect me, no matter what," Chloe replied, her voice almost a whisper. "He never hurt me, never lied to me. I could let my guard down when I was with him."

Ian nodded, understanding her. "This man you knew, this Lucifer, is sitting right over there," he turned around, pointing at him, and as Chloe followed his finger, she locked eyes with Lucifer who stared back at her, full of sadness. Ian turned back to her, getting her attention, and spoke on, "He was the devil before he met you, and he will be the devil for all eternity. But this doesn't mean that he will suddenly change towards you just because you know that now. He is still the man you can feel safe with. The man who protects you. And he will always be the Lucifer you got to know." He lowered his eyes, staring right into hers. "I've seen him at your funeral. He cried for you, Chloe, and the devil cries for no one."

Chloe took a deep breath, letting his words sink in.

"And by the way, your little daughter is truly adorable," he ended, winking at her. "Give her a tight hug when you get back." With that he stood up, going back to Lex and hugging her from behind. "I think you can go now. Watch the sunset for us, would you?" Ian addressed Lucifer, sending him a supportive smile.

Lucifer nodded, getting up and stepping back to Chloe, holding out his hand towards her. He held his breath in worry and sighed with relief as she clasped his hand and let him pull her up into his arms.

Chloe breathed in his scent. She didn't want to admit it, but his arms tightly wrapped around her felt wonderful. It soothed her feelings, calming her down. She snuggled deeper into him as she listened to his voice.

"Your life as you knew it, will never be the same, Chloe. But I promise you, I'll be there for you. I will never leave your side again," Lucifer assured her, gently kissing her head before he released her out of his grip.

Chloe saddened as he let go of her. Suddenly it all felt so cold and a shiver ran down her spine and through her body. She had to suppress the urge to fling her arms back around his neck really hard and felt overly relieved as he took hold of her hand.

"Finally!" Maze exclaimed, getting up herself. It disgusted her that not even hell seemed to be safe from that whole touchy-feely talk anymore. But at least, she had two new bartenders waiting for her in LUX, she thought.

Lucifer sent her another reproachful glance but didn't say anything. They said their goodbyes to each other, and Lucifer, Chloe and Maze set off.

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 **A/N:** Soooo. In the next chapter you will read how Chloe is coping with everything, being back on earth and, especially, the new defined relationship between her and her 'master'. ;) I hope you liked this chapter. Please let me know and send me a comment. (You can also say what you didn't like or what you didn't understand or if you have questions btw. ;) )

Have a nice day!

:o)


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Hello my dear readers. I know it's not my time to upload yet. In my country it's still one our to midnight, buuuuut I'm in a very good mood and wanted to share it with you. And yes, I also can't wait to know what you think of this chapter. :D

A big thank you to all of you who put this story to their favourites and / or story alerts. Maybe I'll also get a review from you next time? *wish* *hint* *hint*

Edit: This chapter **is** **now** **beta-read** thanks to Daemon. Any remaining mistakes are my own :D

Here comes the chapter.

Enjoy!

* * *

It was strange to walk back on earth.

Birds were flying, chirping around, the loud sounds of cars rushing across the streets, chattering people everywhere. The bright sun, all the different colours and scents. It was as if Chloe's senses weren't used to all this anymore. She shielded her gaze and leant further into Lucifer's embrace, letting him guide her to the entrance of the building.

It was only within the secure walls of the small elevator, when she finally looked up, testing her eyes on the marble-coloured wall that was smoothly backlit.

An almost unbearable loud clang resounded, announcing that they had reached the penthouse floor. The doors sprang open and Lucifer entered his apartment, still holding tight onto Chloe. Maze exited last.

Chloe gaped as she saw the room. "Where is all your furniture?" she asked, totally flabbergasted.

Lucifer shrugged his shoulders, bluffing it out as he stated nonchalantly, "I thought it's time for a change."

Maze went to the part of the bar counter that was still intact, grabbing the biggest bottle and pouring herself a drink. She turned around, commenting dryly, "After you died, he let his anger out on them. The couch was the only item he kept in one piece and the piano the only item he allowed me to replace."

Lucifer coughed, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. "Don't you have a job downstairs?" he snapped at her.

Maze squinted her eyes, glaring at him as she moved her hand in a mocking salute. She gulped her drink down and exited through the elevator.

"Come on, you can't stay in your clothes," he commented to Chloe with a more gentle voice, gesturing her to follow him to the bedroom.

Chloe looked down onto herself: Her jeans were drenched in dirt, ripped open on her knees, and her t-shirt looked even worse. A light flush accentuated her cheeks as she realised, this was the way she'd just walked through L.A. with. She followed him, stopping at the entrance of the room and watching him as he opened his large wardrobe, taking out a long shirt and holding it towards her.

"Here, you can change in the bathroom," he suggested, avoiding her gaze. He felt uneasy after what Maze had revealed about him. Not having had himself under control, made him now seem vulnerable and weak in his eyes. He didn't want Chloe to think of him as that.

Chloe took the shirt without a word, turned around and headed to the bathroom. She opened the door and searched the wall for the light switch, closing the door as she pressed the button. The light was cold white and she shielded her eyes from the brightness, blinking and waiting several moments until her eyes adjusted to it.

She sighed, looking at the shirt in her hand. She was no longer human. She was a demon now. But what did this mean for her? Would she change? Lose her feelings? Maze didn't seem to have any human feelings, but Lex was very kind, and Ian, most of all, seemed so gentle, but then again, they weren't anywhere near the age Maze seemed to be. Chloe took another deep breath, realising that she had been standing there for several moments, staring at the shirt, deep in her own thoughts. She went to the little bench, laying it down on it, and stripped down to her underwear. Looking down on her, she recognised the dirt on her hands, arms and legs, and decided to quickly wash it off. She turned around to the basin.

Lucifer went to the counter, pouring himself a drink, before he took place in front of his piano. He sipped on his glass and then put it down. Carefully, his fingers touched the white keys, bringing life into the big object as soft tones resounded through the air. The corners of his lips unconsciously curled up into a smile as he thought about the day Chloe had visited him and they had played a duet. Maybe they could do that again one time, he thought. He grabbed his glass, about to take a second sip as a piercing scream came out of the bathroom, shocking him marrow deep.

He leapt from his seat and darted towards the room, ripping the door open. Chloe was cowering in a corner, curled up into a ball, crying and trembling like a leaf. In an instant he crouched down, putting his arms around her, cradling her. "Shush. It's alright now, I'm here," he whispered, trying to calm her down.

With eyes pressed shut, she moved her hands around him, tightly grasping the fabric of his shirt and holding on to him as if he was her lifeline.

Lucifer hugged her tighter, lightly rocking her back and forth. As her cries subsided and her breathing steadied, he questioned calmly. "What's wrong, Chloe?"

"My face," she answered with a shaky voice, grabbing him firmer.

"What is with your face?" Lucifer asked, not understanding the matter.

"Don't you see it?" she counter-questioned, this time looking up at him. "Half its side is covered in blood, there are cuts everywhere."

"Oh," he responded, as it dawned upon him what she was talking about. His lips stretched into a smirk, and he explained to her with a soft voice, "Detective, there is nothing wrong with your face. What you saw was how you died."

He looked down at the cold bundle in his arms and finally realised she was practically naked. He sat down, cradling her in his lap while he took the shirt from the bench and helped her get into it. Holding her tight with one arm, he used his free hand to run it up and down her back. "It will take some time until you have enough power to make your face look like it was before the accident, but till then, every time you look into the mirror you'll see how you died. Do you understand this?" he explained to her.

Chloe nodded, having finally calmed down. It scared her, everything. Especially the unfamiliar feelings that seem to come up whenever she was so close to him: this soothing, warm feeling inside of her; this longing for his arms to hold her tight. She didn't know where it came from and it scared her. She felt as if she suddenly had no control over herself anymore. She sighed deeply, moving a bit away from him to loosen the contact. Quickly buttoning up her shirt, she looked at him. "Am I the only one who sees my face like that?"

Lucifer pursed his lips, sighing. "No. When you look into a mirror, people will see the reflection just like you do. Only until you get more power and can suppress it, of course," he assured her. "But till then, I would recommend you not to look in any mirror when someone else is around." He saw her averting his gaze and took hold of her chin, lifting it up and making her look at him. "You alright?" he questioned, his voice almost a whisper.

He said ' _people_ ', as in ' _humans_ ', she thought. She counter-questioned again, sounding sorrowful, "Do you see my face as I died?"

Lucifer chuckled lowly, answering with a big smile, "I see your face as it is: The most beautiful face I've ever seen on a human."

Chloe couldn't help the smile from spreading her lips. "I thought I'm a demon now?" she teased.

"Yes, you are." His smile turned into a smug grin as he added, "A very sexy, half-naked, sitting-on-my-bathroom-floor demon." He snickered as she playfully slapped his arm. "Come on, now. Let's get you into my bed," he commented and almost laughed out loud as he saw her glare at him. "To sleep!" he explained quickly, "you need the rest."

He helped her up and guided her back to his bedroom. Removing the blankets, he patted down onto the mattress, remarking with a cheeky smile, "Chop-chop! To bed with you."

Chloe gripped around her elbow, standing in front of the bed, hesitating. Fear crept up on her as she suddenly remembered the words he told her down in hell.

Lucifer tilted his head in wonder. "What's all of a sudden?"

She sighed. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she didn't want to let them out. Plucking up her courage, she finally answered, "You said my body would obey to your word."

"Oh," he stated as he realised what she meant. He stepped forward, taking her cheeks in his hands as he locked eyes with her, replying with the most honest and calm voice he didn't even know was in him, "Chloe, I will never, ever do anything to you that you don't want."

She nodded, sighing with relief and flashing him a light smile. She crawled into bed and patiently let him tuck the blanket around her, silently wondering about when he'd learned to take care of someone.

He sat down next to her on the edge of the bed, lightly rubbing across her back. "You've been a very obedient demon," he praised her teasing, a smirk stretching his lips again. "I hope that lasts for some time before you become as rebellious as Maze."

Chloe chuckled lowly. "I thought you like rebellion," she teased back.

"True!" he admitted, adding smugly, "When it comes from me." He smiled brightly at her before his expression became serious again. "I'm right over there." He pointed towards the couch. "If you need anything, just say so."

She nodded, assuring him she had understood, before she turned around, snuggling into the pillow.

Lucifer tucked the blanket tighter around her back, rubbed across it and bent down to kiss her head, before he got up, grabbing the glass from the piano, and sat down on the couch.

He waited several minutes before he got up again. Without making any noise he walked back towards the bedroom, checking on her. A relieved smile settled down on his face as he saw her sound asleep.

/-/

It was way past midnight as a piercing scream woke Lucifer, sending chills down his spine. He sprang up from the couch he had slept on, darting to Chloe.

Her eyes were still closed, but she was tossing and turning, screaming over and over again for her daughter.

"Wake up, it's alright," he spoke lowly as he lightly shook her shoulders, caressing her cheeks to wake her.

"Trixie!" Chloe screamed once more before her eyes sprang open, revealing the sheer horror she felt, sweat ran down her skin as she sat up, grabbing hold onto Lucifer. She looked around, trying to recall where she was.

"It was just a bad dream, Chloe," he soothed her, taking her into a hug. Her racing heart was so loud he could almost hear it as he ran his hands across her back, calming her down. "Shh! It's alright now."

"Trixie," Chloe panted. Her whole body was trembling and the tears ran down her cheeks. She snuggled deeper into him, not caring this time about what his close presence did to her, as long as it calmed her down.

"She's alright, don't worry," Lucifer assured her, adding with a grin, "She's probably sound asleep in detective douche's home." He sat back a little, lifting her chin again to have a better look at her eyes. They were still filled with fear. "It's just the memory of hell. It will go away, eventually."

Chloe nodded her understanding and turned her head away, laying it back against his shoulder and grabbing around his body, feeling his warm skin beneath her fingers as she took several deep breaths to calm herself down some more.

"Want me to lie down next to you?" Lucifer questioned softly, offering her his company.

She shook her head, backing away from him. "No, that's not a good idea. I don't," she stopped in mid-sentence. What exactly did she not? Not knowing what she felt? Not knowing if these feelings were her own? What she would do, if she had him so close next to her? The questions ran around in her head, clouding her senses. She shook her head again, trying to get rid of them. "It's best you go back," she stated eventually.

Lucifer raised his eyebrow. What she said and how she looked when saying it didn't correspond with each other. He lowered his gaze, taking her chin back in his hand to make her look at him as he questioned, "Would it make you feel better if I sleep next to you?"

Chloe didn't say anything, but her answer was written all over her face.

He smiled softly, gesturing her to move a little back as he stated, "Then come, make some room for me." He lay down on his back next to her, grasping around her and taking her into his arms. Her initial hesitation vanished quickly and she snuggled deep into his chest, her arms lying on both his sides. He caressed across her back, listening to her even breaths, while his other hand had hers encompassed. He lightly moved his thumb in circles across her fingers, feeling the soft skin.

It didn't take long until sleep fell down onto them again.

/-/

Maze stood in the entrance of his room, a smug smile on her lips as she watched her master sleep tightly embraced with his newest demon. He stirred, slowly opening his eyes, and she couldn't stop teasing, "Did she finally let you have a go?"

"What do you want?" Lucifer hissed angrily at her.

She huffed annoyed and turned her heels, answering before she walked back into the living room, "Brought you breakfast."

Lucifer gazed at her, puzzled.

"You're mean to her," Chloe mumbled lowly, her eyes still shut.

He turned around, a soft smile on his lips as he tapped her nose, making her look up at him. "Morning, you," he greeted her. "Slept well?"

Chloe nodded, yawned loudly and backed away a little to bring some distance between them.

He turned his body towards her, lying on the side, as he questioned, "Why do you think I'm mean to her?"

"You always snap. No matter what, you're angry at her, even when she does what you want," Chloe explained, sighing. She tucked her arms under her head, using them as a pillow, and locked eyes with him.

"Well, she's my demon. That's just the way I am," Lucifer justified his doing.

"I'm your demon now, too. You don't snap at me," she pinpointed, noticing him moving his head slightly back in a defensive manner.

"It's different with you," he explained briefly, the smile on his lips disappeared.

"Why?" Chloe asked curiously. She sensed he was uncomfortable talking about that matter, but she wanted to know.

Lucifer shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know. It just is," he answered and stood up from the bed. "Try to get some more sleep," he suggested to her, wrapping himself in his robe and leaving the room.

Maze sat at the counter, gulping her drink down, as he stepped next to her, eyeing the food she'd brought them. "Thought you were hungry. New demons need a lot of energy," she explained quickly, her anger still sounded through her voice.

"Thanks, Mazikeen, and sorry for my yelling before," Lucifer replied, sending her an acknowledging nod before he grabbed the boxes and walked back.

Maze looked after him as if he had two heads, her eyebrow raised in bewilderment. The devil had never apologised to her before.

* * *

 **A/N:** End of the chapter. I hope you liked it :D Just a question, usually I don't give away what will happen in the next chapter, but since I got some messages asking me what will happen: Would you like a sneak-peak at the end of each chapter?

Anyway. Have a nice sunday!

:o)


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Alright, you wanted the next chapter sooner, here it comes ;) I hope you like it.

 **Edit:** This chapter **is** **now** **beta-read** thanks to Daemon. All remaining mistakes are my own. :D

Enjoy!

* * *

"Thank you, Sir," the delivery man stated with a cheeky smile as he took the offered extra money.

Lucifer grinned at him. "You're very welcome!" he replied politely, guiding him back to the elevator. As the doors closed, he went back to the just delivered huge box standing on the new couch table. "Come over here detective, I'm not gonna carry this heavy thing to you," Lucifer called for her, grabbing a knife to cut through the tape.

Slowly, Chloe approached him, a wary expression on her face. "What's in there?"

"Your new clothes," he answered nonchalantly, adding: "I've taken the liberty to order some for you." He looked at her. "As much as I prefer you running around this apartment wearing nothing but my shirt, it starts to distract me. And you can't disappear into my bedroom every time the elevator opens, don't you think?" he stated, a smug smile playing on his lips as he gave her the once-over. He stepped aside, gesturing her to explore the items.

' _This is worse than worse_ ,' Chloe thought to herself, eyeing him sceptically. The looks he'd given her when he thought she wouldn't notice were an easy thing to handle. She actually like it that he secretly checked out her behind whenever she passed him by. It's been a long time since someone had done that and it made her feel attractive. But having him order new clothes for her without giving her the chance to check on them before, was off limits. She stepped to the box, cautiously opening the lid. Her mind showed her horror pictures of lewd nun or maid dresses, and she hoped pleadingly that he didn't order something kinky.

As she took off the lid and rummaged in the box, she found several pairs of jeans inside, together with several shirts, short and long, jackets, socks, decent underwear and a very decent pair of PJs. Even a black hat was in there, very useful if she needed to shield her face. The clothes were way above her salary, but she definitely would have bought them; if she still had a job and were human, of course. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank -"

Lucifer quickly cut her off: "No, no, no! Don't even start there!" he cautioned her before she could let the g-word pop.

Chloe looked up, seeing his pursed lips. "You, I wanted to say," she quickly covered up, sending him a smile, before she turned her attention back to the box, grabbing the items that appealed her the most, and disappeared into the bathroom.

"Guess I did a good pick," Maze commented, winking at him and sipping on her drink.

He stepped to her. "You could say so!" He nodded. Lowering his voice to not be overheard by the detective, he added, a wicked smile on his face: "I still had preferred the straps and corsage, though."

"Demon or not, if I had let you order them for her, I'm dead sure she would have killed you," Maze countered, standing up from the barstool and passing him very closely behind his back.

Lucifer shrugged it off, gazing after her. "Wouldn't have cared. She's a demon now, so I should be back to my good old immortality around her."

Maze turned back to him, a cautious look on her face. "You better check that out before you take any risks."

"Will do, no worries," he assured her.

Chloe was careful not to glance at the mirror as she changed into the new clothes. The blood-smeared picture of herself staring back at her still haunted her in her dreams. She knew one day she would have to take a look in the mirror again, but today wasn't that day, she'd decided. The fabric felt that awesome on her, she couldn't even describe it; and she didn't just think this because it had been two days since they came back to earth and the shirt was her only option.

She sighed with relief, looking down on her once more. Today was the day she would finally see her daughter again. Even if it only had been five days since she died. The time in hell had felt like three months for her. She didn't know why, but also didn't want to ask Lucifer about it. Maybe it was just because she'd been punished. After all, there is this saying, that time is relative.

She exited the bathroom again, walking up to the other two. "How do I look?" she asked, smiling.

Lucifer looked her up and down, smiling smugly and lightly wetting his lips. ' _Maze was right, she did a good pick_ ,' he thought as he admired her clothes. They accentuated all the right places, without giving anything away.

"What? No witty remark?" Chloe teased him, folding her arms in front of her chest.

"Not today, my dear," he replied with a grin, grabbing his jacket from the piano and putting it on.

"Oh, is it already time to go?" she asked him, surprised. Since being a demon, she somehow had no sense for time any longer. As he made his way to the elevator, she walked after him.

Lucifer turned around. "No, no, my dear. You'll stay here. I'll bring your offspring to you," he ordered in a friendly manner.

"What?" As soon as the question was out, she knew the answer already. Someone could recognise her and that would be more than awkward. Before he had the chance to answer, she quickly added: "Look, I know it's too risky if someone sees me. I could stay in the car," she offered. Going back to the box, she took out the hat, suggesting: "I could also wear this one. No one would see my face."

"I said no!" He simply replied. He wasn't harsh or anything, just determined not to take any risks with her.

Chloe put the hat back to the other items, folding her arms in disappointment. "So this is it? You brought me back here so I am trapped inside your apartment forever?"

He couldn't help noticing the light rebuke in her voice. "Chloe, you are officially dead!" he countered sternly, adding more gently: "We will figure something out for you, but for now, you do as I say and stay here. I promised you your daughter and that's exactly what I'm doing now." He turned his attention to Maze, making Chloe clear that there was no more room to argue. "Keep an eye on her while I'm gone."

Maze nodded, staring after him as he left.

/-/

Lucifer stood in the middle of the elevator, checking his cuff buttons as it moved downwards. A strange feeling settled down inside his stomach, which he couldn't quite pin down. It increased, the lower the elevator went, giving him a light feeling of heart burn. He ignored it.

The ground floor was reached and the doors opened to both sides. Lucifer stepped out and walked cheerfully towards the side entry to get to his car. He hadn't even reached the door as suddenly a sharp pain went through his intestines. Starting in his stomach, it quickly spread out, making him feel as if someone cut through the flesh, set it on fire and ripped him apart.

He broke down in pain, gritting his teeth to prevent himself from screaming out. His eyes burned fiery red, supplying him with the needed strength to crawl back to the elevator. Something wasn't right and he needed help; right now. He needed Maze.

He reached the cubicle, went inside, and with the last strength that was in him he pressed the button, falling exhausted to the floor as the elevator moved its way back up again.

As quickly as it appeared, the pain vanished again. Lucifer stood up dizzily, but felt only some burning sensations left inside of him as he reached the floor to his apartment. The doors sprang open and he stepped back into the room, only to find Chloe lying on the ground, holding her belly, trembling and groaning with pain.

"I don't know what happened. She suddenly broke down," Maze quickly informed him, kneeling beside her, her face showing worry and surprise.

Lucifer startled in fear for her, completely ignoring his own state. He rushed forward, crouching down. "Chloe, what's wrong?" he questioned full of worry, but got no response.

"You were just gone for a minute, and suddenly she broke down and screamed in pain," Maze filled him in, holding one of Chloe's hands.

He picked her up, carefully carrying her to the bed and lying her down. "Chloe," he called her softly. Getting no answer, he repeated: "Chloe, can you look at me?"

Chloe panted heavily. The pain she felt was written all over her face. It took her real effort to oblige to his plea, but she managed to open her eyes, quickly turning her head at the bright light coming from the window. She squirmed and held out her hands, trying to grab him.

Lucifer took her hand into his, running with his other one up and down her back, trying to comfort her. "What'd just happened?"

"I don't know. It just hurt so much," she answered through gasps. It took a moment, but more and more she was able to deepen her breaths, bringing her heart rate down to normal. "It suddenly hurt so much," she stated once again. "I felt like someone ripped me apart from inside."

He looked at her with great concern. Remembering his own pain, he asked himself if it was related. It definitely couldn't have been any food poisoning or other diseases that were only reserved for the weak human flesh. And that was what worried him the most. She was a demon now, she should have been fine. "Close your eyes and try to get some rest," he replied softly, gently rubbing across her stomach.

"What about Trixie?" Chloe looked up with hope in her eyes.

He shook his head. "Maybe we shift this to tomorrow."

"No!" She contradicted vehemently, shaking her head. "You promised me today. I wanna see my daughter, no matter what, Lucifer. The pain is almost gone anyway," she explained, determined.

Lucifer took a deep breath and sighed. Stubborn little detective. "Alright, but I won't let you out of my sight again. I'll send Maze to get her," he declared and stood up, going back to the living area.

"So, one human child delivered to Chloe, fresh and warm," Maze joked around.

The devil glared at her. "The child has one scratch and you'll know me. Got that?" he warned her, scribbling down the address of the school on a piece of paper and giving it to her.

"Relax!" she countered, rolling her eyes and adding: "I'm friends with that kid, I won't harm her." She turned around, heading for the elevator.

Lucifer went back to Chloe, sitting down back beside her on the bed. "How's the pain?" he questioned almost in a whisper.

Chloe looked at him while her hands searched for his again. "Getting better."

He grasped around her, continuing with rubbing her back as the thoughts went back into his mind. Suspiciously he looked up towards the ceiling, and he wondered if his father had a finger in this pie.

/-/

Maze had no trouble finding the school. All she had to do was following these terrible, screaming little humans that were worse than any demons down in hell. She looked at the building in disgust, seeing a crowd of children right in front of it. "Too bad I don't have my daggers with me," she commented to herself as she exited the car, heading for them.

"Let me go!" Trixie cried out, as two of the older kids held her tight.

"Sure!" one of them said nonchalantly and suddenly she was pushed down to the ground, falling on her knees.

"Well? Are you gonna call your devil friend now?" another one mocked her, chuckling evilly.

Trixie looked up. She had tears in her eyes, but glared at them in anger, determined to stand her ground. "Yes! I'm gonna tell him and he will punish you for that!" she spat back, getting up.

One of the other kids pushed her back to the ground. "Where is your mummy now? Doesn't she come for you?" he continued his bullying.

"Maybe her Satanist friend will come," another kid added, laughing viciously.

"Exactly!" Maze spoke up, suddenly appearing behind the kids and grabbing the first one at his ear, pulling at it and pushing him to the ground. She stepped forward, grabbing the older kid by her collar and pulling her up. "I love torturing little bullies like you. I even have spikes, small enough to spear them into your eyes and pop them out. So better don't make me come here a second time," she threatened them. An evil smile flashed across her face as she pushed the kid to the ground. She turned to the other kids, snarling at them like a dog.

The children screamed at her in fear and ran away.

Trixie stood up and fell around her. "Maze!" she greeted her, relieved. "Thank you so much."

"Why are they pestering you?" she questioned, squatting down.

Trixie sighed, her eyes turning sad. "I told them that Lucifer will bring me my mummy back. They didn't believe me."

"I see!" Maze replied.

"Are you here to pick me up?" she asked with a smile on her lips that disappeared again as she added: "Daddy is late again."

"Of course I do," Maze replied with a grin. "Come on! Lucifer has a big surprise for you," she stated, leading her to her car.

"Is it chocolate cake?" Trixie questioned, her eyes sparkling.

Maze chuckled, starting the engine. "Much better!" she answered and drove off.

/-/

"Lucifer!" Trixie screamed with joy as she got sight of him. She ran out of the elevator, falling around his legs and hugging him tight.

He patted her head, greeting her friendly: "Hello little human." He squatted down, taking her hands into his to make sure he had her full attention.

"Maze told me you have a surprise for me," she informed him, totally overjoyed.

"Yes, that's right," he replied smiling. "But at first, you have to make some promises, OK?" As he saw her nod eagerly, he continued: "You get to see the surprise only, and if only, you promise me to not tell anyone else. Not even your father."

"I have to lie to him?" Trixie questioned sceptically.

"No!" Lucifer contradicted. "Just not tell him everything, alright?"

The child nodded again, a big smile on her face.

"If you tell anyone about this surprise, I get into really big trouble and we don't want that, do we?" he explained to her.

She shook her head vehemently.

"That's good. Now come." He picked her up, as he continued: "There is a present waiting for you in the bedroom, but before I'll bring you there, close your eyes."

Trixie eyed him sceptically, but then smiled and put her hands above her eyes.

Lucifer carried her into the bedroom, still holding her in his arms as he explained calmly: "You have to be very careful, promise?"

"Promise," Trixie replied. "Can I open my eyes now?"

"Yes," he replied with a grin, carefully putting her down on the bed.

Trixie opened her eyes and shouted out in joy: "Mummy!" She fell around her mother's neck with tears in her eyes, hugging her tight.

Chloe's eyes were filled with tears as well as she finally could take her daughter back into her arms, smothering her with kisses and hugging her tight. She whispered a 'thank you' towards Lucifer before he turned around, letting the two some privacy.

"Mummy, I've missed you so much. Please don't leave me ever again," Trixie pleaded, holding onto her as if she was a lifeline.

Chloe rubbed across her back, kissing her dearly on the cheek. "I've missed you, too, monkey. I've missed you so much and I love you so, so much." She hugged her once more before she let go of her, helping her daughter to sit a little back. She cupped her cheeks as she went on: "I don't know how long I will be here, but I will try to stay as long as I can, OK, honey." Seeing her daughter's sad eyes as she told her that almost broke her heart.

"I know. You died, and other kids don't get their parents back when they die. So I'm very lucky," Trixie concluded. She was quite smart for her age.

Chloe smiled at her with a happy and a sad eye. "Let's just enjoy the time we have, yeah?"

Trixie nodded eagerly, falling around her mum's neck again. "How was it in heaven?" She suddenly blurted out.

The question took her off guard. Chloe couldn't and didn't want to tell her that she'd been to hell, not heaven. She decided to use a tiny white lie, making something up so her child wouldn't be scared. "I don't remember much. I felt loved. Some of my friends were there. It was warm everywhere. And then, Lucifer came to take me back." Technically speaking, half of it wasn't even a lie.

Her daughter grinned from ear to ear and her eyes sparkled. "I almost thought you wouldn't come back. But you're here now, right?"

"Yes, I'm here, baby," Chloe confirmed once again, kissing her daughter's head.

Trixie snuggled deeper into her, touching her cheek and caressing it gently. "And you are really real, right?"

"Yes, I am. Wanna test it?" she questioned, grinning at the small bundle in her arms.

A mischievous smile flashed across Trixie's lips, she sat up and pinched into her mother's arm.

"Ouch!" Chloe cried out with laughter. "See, I'm real."

"Yeah!" she smiled back. "Can I try again?" Seeing her mother nod, she pinched her again and chuckled as she heard her cry out and then laugh again.

Suddenly Lucifer stood in the entrance. "What are you doing?" he asked perplexed, his voice an octave higher than usual, rubbing across his upper arm.

"I'm testing if mummy is really real," Trixie explained nonchalantly. "See." She turned back, pinching her mother again.

"Ouch!" Chloe and Lucifer cried out in unison.

Chloe stared at him, flabbergasted at his outcry. "Why did this hurt you?"

"Apparently I can feel your pain now," he replied, his expression equally a mixture of bafflement and worry.

"Does this also work the other way round?" Trixie questioned amazed. Before anyone could answer, she stood up, pinching Lucifer into his leg.

"Ow!" he cried out in pain. Why did little children seem to always have fingers as sharp as spikes?

Trixie turned around, seeing her mother staring blankly at her. "Nope!" she explained, popping the 'p' and hopped back onto the bed, cuddling into her mother's arms. "Is this because you brought her back?"

"Seems so? But I have no idea why," Lucifer answered, thoughts filled with worry and wonder spinning around in his head. This couldn't be a good sign, and they had to find out the reason for it as soon as possible.

"Well, maybe you feel mummy's pain so you can get to her and protect her," the young girl suggested, staring expectantly at him.

Lucifer raised both eyebrows. He had to admit, her explanation sounded reasonable. But why didn't this happen before? She wasn't his first demon, after all. "Alright, no more pinching, OK?" he ordered her, waiting for her OK before he went back into the living area.

Trixie looked up at Chloe, her mind quickly changing the subject. "Mummy, why are you lying in bed? It's still bright outside, you don't have to sleep now."

"Mummy is still weak. It was very exhausting for me," Chloe explained calmly.

"Uh-huh!" her daughter nodded, understanding. "I'm gonna draw you a picture so you get well soon."

"Yes, do this, honey," Chloe agreed, hugging her daughter once more, before she started to tickle her and both fell into laughter.

/-/

The doors of the elevator sprang open and Maze rushed out. "The child needs to leave. Her father is downstairs. He's furious and threatens to come up, with backup if needed, if she doesn't come down. Now!" she informed him hastily.

Lucifer rolled his eyes. "What's with these helicopter parents nowadays. It's not like she's in danger here." He stood up from the piano, nodding once towards the demon. "I'll get the offspring," he stated, heading for the bedroom.

"Chloe, Trixie needs to leave now. Detective douche is downstairs, making a scene," he informed her, his aversion for this human being sounding clearly through his voice.

Chloe nodded her understanding, sadness appeared in her eyes at the soon goodbye. She hugged her daughter again.

"I don't want to go now," Trixie cried, snuggling into her mother.

"You have to, monkey," she explained, running her hands up and down her daughter's back.

"Can I come back tomorrow?" she asked full of hope, looking up.

Chloe nodded. "Of course you can," she assured her without a second thought.

Trixie smiled brightly, kissed her mother goodbye and hopped off the bed, taking Lucifer's hand as he walked with her towards the exit. She turned around a last time, waving towards her mother before he went with her to the elevator, disappearing inside.

* * *

 **A/N:** End of the chapter, but not of the story ;) There is plenty to come. Please let me know your thoughts about it :D

Have a nice day!

:o)


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** Hello my dears. Yes, I was in the mood for a new summary. After all you know already she'd been dead ;) And, yes, I do this sometimes when I think something is more fitting, but it's still the old story. And it won't be long till the final chapter :D

 **Edit:** This chapter **is** **now** **beta-read** thanks to Daemon. Any remaining mistakes are my own :D

Then: THANK YOU **Lisa1972**! You've been the only one reviewing my last chapter so far. I just wanted to thank you here :D AAAAAND, since you, **Crystalyna du Starrvan** and **Howling2themoon** are the ones with the by far most reviews I just wanted to dedicate that chapter to you three :D Thank you so much, you are awesome.

Thank you all for putting this story to their favourite and/or story alert. I really appreciate that! :D I'm really proud that 138 people have this story on their alert so far and really hope you like and enjoy every single chapter.

Alright, here comes the chapter! It's a long one :D

Enjoy!

* * *

"Remember your promise, little human. You must not tell anybody that your mother is alive," Lucifer told her once again.

Trixie looked up, signing a cross over her heart. "I promise. I won't tell anyone." She smiled up at him. "Thank you Lucifer, for bringing her back." She fell around his legs again, hugging him.

Lucifer felt uncomfortable, but he was willing to let her show her affection. "You're welcome, offspring," he replied warmly, smiling to hide the truth that he did it only for selfish reasons.

The doors sprang open.

"Trixie!" Dan shouted out, grabbing his daughter and pulling her away from Lucifer. He lifted her up, hugging her tight. "Give me one reason to not turn you in for abduction of a minor," he spat, his eyes glaring at the taller man.

"I did not abduct her!" Lucifer replied in a calm but warning tone, stepping out of the elevator.

"If you're so concerned for her wellbeing, then why didn't you pick her up on time?" Maze interjected. She walked around the detective, stepping next to Lucifer. "She was there all alone, getting bullied," she explained, crossing her arms in front of her chest, staring him down.

"Daddy, it's alright. I was just with Lucifer. We had a lot of fun," Trixie chimed in, patting her father's neck to calm him down.

Dan looked at her, saw the joy in his daughter's eyes, and composed himself. He gazed back at Lucifer, showing him once again the anger he felt. "This will have consequences!" he warned, turned around and left.

Trixie looked back over the shoulder of her father, smiling brightly and gesturing with her fingers to zip up her mouth, doing a locking move at the corner, before she waved her goodbye to them.

Lucifer nodded towards her, waving back. He turned around, stepping back into the elevator. Maze followed him. He pressed the button and the lift moved up.

"What's up?" Maze questioned, eyeing his grumpy expression.

He quickly glanced down at her before he raised his eyes back towards the doors, answering lowly: "I've got stomach ache."

"You, too? Did something happen?" she replied, showing worry for her master.

Lucifer shook his head, explaining: "It's not me, but Chloe again. I can feel her pain." He sighed.

"What?" Maze burst out, completely gobsmacked. "First, she makes you vulnerable and now you can feel her pain, too? What's going on with this woman?" she growled lowly under her breath, shaking her head, folding her arms in front of her chest and letting out a huff.

"I have no idea, Maze. I have no idea," he commented lowly.

The elevator stopped and the doors sprang open. Lucifer quickly rushed out, making a bee-line to his bedroom.

Chloe lay on the bed in a foetal position, face turned towards the windows. She was crying and her body shivered lightly.

He sat down next to her, his upper body halfway hunched over her, grabbing her hands with his left hand and rubbing across her back with his other. "How strong is the pain, Chloe?" he worriedly whispered into her ear.

She snuffled audibly, blinking her eyes to get rid of the tears blurring her view. "It's already gone," she replied lowly.

"Then why are you crying?" he questioned, not understanding anything at all. He grabbed her sides, rolling her towards him to make her look up.

Chloe turned her head, she didn't want to see him right now, but he laid his hands on both sides of her head, easily turning her back, and used his arms to pin her down in this position.

Lucifer frowned, touching her forehead and feeling her temperature; she was burning up. "Explain it to me, Chloe, I don't understand it," he ordered concerned, staring at her.

"Of course you don't. You don't have any kids," she countered, wiping away the fresh tears that ran down her cheeks. "I will never see her grow up, Lucifer," she suddenly blurted out. "As you said it, I'm dead. I won't be able to attend her school plays, or to watch her doing her sports and cheer for her. No more bed time stories. No more trips to the museum or the zoo. I'm stuck here with you, relying on your OK to see my daughter for half an hour. I thought my time in hell was terrible, but this here is way worse," she blubbered out, covering her face with both of her hands as new tears welled up and she started to cry again.

Seeing her in such agony tucked at his heartstrings. He didn't know what to do or how to help her. Once again, he was at his wit's end. Then an idea stroke him. He let go off her, watching her crawl back into her foetal position, and stood up, going into the living room.

He took the phone from out of his jacket, dialling the number. "Hello, Linda... Yes, it's me," he greeted the therapist, listening to her voice. "Yeah, I'm still in L.A... If you don't mind, could you come over to my place, doing a house visit?... No, I can't come into the office, but it's really urgent," he explained, listening further to her voice. "No, no, in three hours is fine. Thank you!" He hang up, put the phone down and went inside the bathroom, getting a wet cloth before he made his way back to Chloe.

/-/

Dan watched his daughter attentively as she picked with her fork into the salad, she had barely eaten during dinner. "What's up, monkey?" he questioned her, putting his cutlery aside.

Trixie looked up, her eyes filled with sadness. "I miss my mummy." Tears welled up in her eyes.

"I know you do. I miss her, too," he replied softly, standing up and taking a seat on the chair next to her. He caressed her hair, his hand landing on her back and rubbing across it in circles as he suggested: "Do you want to go to the cemetery tomorrow after school and tell her that you miss her?"

She shook her head, a stern expression on her face. "I wanna go to Lucifer tomorrow," she answered determined.

Dan stared at her puzzled. It's not like Lucifer liked children or had a child-friendly home, so why all of a sudden did she want to visit him two times in a row? He turned her around to have a face-to-face conversation with her. "Trixie, why do you want to go to Lucifer tomorrow?"

Trixie rummaged in her mind, weighting the words to make sure they were safe to tell, before she answered: "My present is there."

"Your present?" Dan questioned, flabbergasted. He saw her nodding eagerly. "What exactly is your present?"

"I can't tell you," she replied, smiling from ear to ear as she added: "But it was a very big surprise."

"Monkey, why can't you tell me what it was?" he asked her, worry creeping up on his spine. The way she behaved sounded suspicious, but he wouldn't want to let that feeling overwhelm him right now.

"It's a secret. Sorry daddy, I can't tell you. I don't want Lucifer to get in trouble for it," she simply answered.

Dan looked at her, his inner senses on full alert. "Trixie, did Lucifer tell you it's a secret and you can't tell someone or he would get in trouble?"

She looked back at him, nodding once.

"Honey, you know, I'm your daddy. You can tell me everything and no one gets into trouble, especially not you. You know that, right?" he asked her, putting on a straight mask to not frighten her, shielding his inner worry that spread out inside of him. As he saw her nodding again, he continued: "Can you tell me what exactly did happen up there in Lucifer's apartment."

Trixie thought about it and decided that the first part wouldn't spill any beans, so she started: "I was inside his living room and hugged him. Then he made me promise to not tell anyone about my present. Then he picked me up and put me down on his bed. And I got my present," she ended, her eyes beamed as she thought back at the moment with her mother.

Dan almost forgot to breathe, and he could swear for a moment his heart stopped beating. He was shocked. How could this happen to his little daughter. He knew right from the beginning Lucifer was up to no good, but that he would do that to a child, Chloe's child, for God's sake, was even beyond his belief. He swallowed several times, plucking up all his courage as he asked her: "Trixie, darling. Did Lucifer touch you?"

Trixie looked at him perplexed, she never saw her father acting so strange. "Of course he did," she answered nonchalantly. How else should he be able to lift her up? Adults could really be weird sometimes. "So, can I go to him tomorrow?" She looked at him, full of hope.

His heart sank into his boots and he swallowed to get the lump out of his throat. With a slightly shaking voice he answered: "We'll see tomorrow, alright?"

Trixie nodded, standing up from the table and going into her room.

/-/

"Lucifer!" Linda exclaimed as she walked towards him, giving him a friendly hug. "I'm so glad you decided to stay in L.A. I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks," he replied quickly, sparing the small talk and guiding her to the elevator. As they were inside, he pressed the button and it moved upwards.

"How are you coping?" she wanted to know, letting her concern for his well-being sound through her voice.

Lucifer shirked from her look, but answered her truthfully: "Good, actually. I'm feeling way better now, but also at a loss."

"Right, the call. You said you needed to talk to me urgently, so how can I help you?" she questioned, looking at him to attentively watch every change in his expression.

He harrumphed, taking a deep breath. "Well, actually it's not for me, but for someone else who needs your help."

"Oh!" Linda was surprised to hear him say that. It had seemed to her that he didn't care for anyone's wellbeing than his own, except when it came to Detective Decker. Hearing him now, saying he wanted her help for someone else, really meant progress. She smiled warmly at him. "Who?"

A ping resounded, announcing that the elevator had reached its destined floor and the doors sprang open.

Lucifer stepped out first, gesturing Linda towards the direction as he answered: "This is a little bit hard to explain. I'll better show you."

Linda stared at him with some surprise, but followed his lead to his bedroom. As he stopped in front of her, his back still turned to her, and didn't explain anything more, she stepped aside to get a look at the person he meant.

And froze in the middle of her motion. "Chloe?" she stated full of shock, staring with wide eyes at Lucifer, then down to her and then switching back to him. "What on earth?" Her legs suddenly felt like pudding and she needed to sit down on the edge of the bed to not keel over. Her eyes fixed on the woman, lying in a foetal position, her arms above her head.

Lucifer sat down on the bed next to Chloe, so his upper leg got into contact with her back. He rested his hand right in front of her arms without touching her, taking back the position he had been in for the last three hours. Chloe had screamed at him when he had touched her directly, and this was the closest to her she had allowed him to be. He didn't want to leave her alone then, because he knew she'd feel better when he was right next to her, and a part of him also needed the close contact. "I brought her back," he simply explained to his therapist.

Linda recognised the sadness in his voice and his eyes stared at her with a mixture of panic and loss. She sighed deeply. Since she'd met Lucifer, there were a lot of things she couldn't explain, and she had gone along with all of his metaphors to be able to work with him. True, there was something about him she couldn't explain, but up to now she had thought that this was caused by a trauma in his childhood. She stared back at the woman. She'd read her autopsy report, seen the pictures they'd added to the file. Chloe Decker was definitely dead, but still she was lying here, in his bed, breathing, curled up into a ball. She clearly saw that Chloe was deeply distressed and she put all the unexplainable aside, letting the therapist in her kick in. "Is she this way since you," she couldn't believe she was actually saying this now, "brought her back?"

"No," he answered, correcting: "Since we had her daughter over and she left."

Linda nodded, the wheels in her head turning on full speed. "Alright, I need her to sit up. But not in the bed, this is too depressing, she needs a change of surroundings," she ordered, standing up and looking around. "The couch!" she stated suddenly, turning back to him. "I need her to sit down on the couch."

Lucifer nodded and turned to Chloe, lowering his head so he was above her ear: "Chloe, I'm gonna pick you up now and carry you to the couch. Please don't scream again. I'll let go of you as soon as you're there, alright?" He moved his arms around her and lifted her up. He was glad that she didn't scream or yell at him, and that her initial struggles quickly subsided as he carried her into the living area and sat her down on the couch. He took place next to her, lying his arm on the backrest to be able to grab around her quickly, in case he needed to.

Chloe folded her arms in front of her chest. Leaning against the back rest, she looked towards the large window to distract herself. She was angry, sad, and scared at the same time, and the least thing she wanted was to talk to Linda about herself. The tingling in her belly grew again, sending the urge through her body to snuggle up into Lucifer's arms, and the anger about it rose. Damn, she hated that feeling so much right now!

Linda sat opposite to them in the chair and looked attentively at the detective, reading her face like an open book. "Chloe, can you tell us what you're upset about right now?" she questioned calmly.

Chloe glared at her, snapping: "Why don't you ask my master?" She turned her face again, staring back out of the window to concentrate her mind, but it was too late. The emotions washed over her again, and the tears welled up into her eyes and ran down her cheeks. She quickly tried to wipe them away, but they were too many. Chloe covered her face and started to sob uncontrollably.

"Alright, that's enough!" Lucifer stated, as he couldn't take her pain any longer. He grabbed around her, pulling her into him in a tight embrace.

"Don't touch me!" she hissed, trying to get away from him.

He simply ignored her struggles and grasped tighter around her, pulling her closer the more she wanted to get away from him.

"Lucifer, normally we respect a person's wish not to get touched," Linda cautioned him.

He turned around, explaining to her: "It calms her down. The closer I am to her, the calmer she gets. I have no idea why."

"You don't know why?" Chloe hissed, putting her hands down to stare at him with her tear-filled eyes. "You made me! You should know why I react that way." She snuffled audibly, using her sleeves to wipe off the tears from her face, and took several long breaths, feeling her heart rate going back to normal with every exhale.

"What does she mean by that, Lucifer? You are her master and you made her?" Linda questioned him cluelessly.

He sighed as he looked at her. Resting his chin on Chloe's head, he briefly explained: "Like I told you, I'm the devil. After Chloe died, I went down to hell to get to her soul, and made her my demon so she could be back on earth again. But I don't know why she calms down when we are so close, or why all of a sudden I feel her pain. This hasn't happened with any other demon I made."

"Okay," Linda replied slowly to let him know that she had understood, but needed a moment to sort her thoughts. "What other demons are you talking about?" she questioned, thinking it would be best to know first how it normally took place to _make a demon_.

"Well, Maze of course. I made her to protect me. She was my first demon, actually," he recalled. "Then several thousand demons down in hell. Some I made to protect the gates and to keep the souls from escaping, and others I made to torture them. Then, the last demon before Chloe was Lex, I made her to take my place in hell and rule it while I'm up here. And then of course, Chloe."

Linda nodded, looking at him with concern. "And why did you make her?"

Lucifer stared at her, flabbergasted. "So she could be back on earth!" he answered, getting impatient. "Doctor, you're here to help her. Why are we talking about me?"

"Because for all the other demons," this word still weighed heavily on her tongue, "you gave an explanation for their creation, except for Detective Decker."

"I made her so she could be back alive!" he countered, his mood getting sour. "Didn't you listen to what I told you just now?"

"When you made me to just be alive, then why can't I go see my daughter? Why am I stuck here with you?" Chloe looked up at him, anger in her eyes.

"That's a very legitimate question," Linda tossed in, watching the two attentively.

"What?" Lucifer glowered at her. "Would you prefer to be back in hell, getting tortured?"

Chloe withdrew from his grip, sitting further away from him as she snapped back: "This is torture! I'm sitting here, 20 minutes away from my daughter, and I can't go out. I can't see her. I can't do anything!" She yelled the last sentence at him, causing new tears to fall down her cheeks.

"Don't talk to me like that!" he growled lowly, his eyes getting dangerously dark.

"Why did you make me!" Chloe shouted at him from the top of her lungs, releasing all the tension that was pent up inside of her.

"I couldn't live without you!" he screamed back at her. Seeing her scared eyes staring at him brought him back to his senses. He was shocked about his own outburst, about the emotions that suddenly overwhelmed him and made him lose control. He stood up, going to the bar counter and grabbing a bottle, pouring himself a drink and downing the liquid in one go. He poured himself another one before he spoke up again, his voice calm and low: "Demons need purposes. That's the reason they exist. But for you, I had no other reason than to bring you back to life. I couldn't bear to live even one moment without you," he explained, his back turned to the other two to hide the sadness in his eyes. "But you wanted your daughter. You cried for her, you couldn't live without her, so I brought you back to earth." He downed the drink in his hand, pouring himself a third one, before he stepped back to the couch and sat down again. "Chloe, I don't know why you feel better the closer I am or feel pain when I'm away. Or why I feel your pain. I honestly don't know. It never happened before, and believe me, it scares me as much as it scares you," he ended, not daring to look her in the eyes.

"You feel pain when he's away?" Linda addressed Chloe, carefully sorting his words in her mind.

She nodded slowly, looking at the therapist, as she explained calmly: "It starts hurting in my stomach and then feels like something rips me apart from the inside when he is away from me. It feels as if I would die again."

"Lucifer, you said demons exist for a purpose. Could it be that this is the purpose you gave her?" Linda questioned him. As weird as it sounded, the things started to make sense to her.

"Doctor, believe me. I neither wanted her to be in pain nor to be stuck with me," he countered, sipping on his drink to soothe his nerves.

"Maybe not consciously, but to me it sounds as if subconsciously, you wanted her to be as close to you as possible and to never leave you again. It's like your heart chose the purpose for her existence."

Lucifer looked up at her, he didn't know what to answer to that.

"So this means I'm really stuck with you? For all eternity? No matter what I do, I can't be with my daughter?" Chloe stared at him, but her anger was gone, leaving only the sorrow behind.

"I promised you, you'll be with your daughter again, and I will find a way, Chloe," he countered, this time looking up into her blue eyes. He straightened his head, staring at the glass in his hands, sighing deeply and admitting: "I told myself that I brought you back to life because I couldn't bear watching you punish yourself or be away from your child. But the truth is, I wanted you back in my life." He took another deep breath and then added, his voice almost a whisper: "I'm a selfish bastard."

Seeing him so hurt and sad tore up her heart. Aside from all his selfish acts, she still was back to life. She was able to see her daughter a last time, to say goodbye to her and tell her that she loved her. And she also knew that when she asked him, he would do anything in his power to let her see her daughter again. Chloe crawled up to him, letting the urge to snuggle back at him and bury her head deep inside his neck guide her. She lay her hand on his belly, moving around him, but as she was about to encompass him completely, he suddenly sprang up, bringing some distance between them.

Not knowing what to do, he quickly downed his drink and went back to the counter.

Linda sighed. He was a really tough patient, she thought, and calmly spoke up: "Lucifer, it's not selfish when you can't let go of the people you love. It's natural," she explained.

He turned around, glaring at her. "The devil does not love!"

"But still, everything you told me was spoken out of love. You completely let your heart rule whenever it comes to Chloe," the therapist countered, knowing that she just stepped onto very thin ice.

"I don't have a heart!" he snapped, downing the next drink. "Not in this emotional sense, anyway." He poured himself another one, grabbing his cigarettes and lighter from the counter and made his way to the balcony. "You're here to help her," he addressed Linda, pointing at Chloe. "So, help her!" he ordered, before he stepped out, closing the glass door behind him and walking over to the railing.

The therapist sighed again, shaking her head about this stubborn man. She turned her attention back to Chloe, who now sat on the couch with her knees tucked under her chin and her arms folded around her legs. "No matter what he says or denies, his whole body language and actions tell me that he truly and deeply loves you," Linda pointed out to her, sighing again.

"I can't be mad at him for that, can I?" Chloe questioned quietly, tears sparkling at the corners of her eyes.

Linda smiled at her encouragingly, shaking her head.

/-/

Lucifer stood slightly bent, his arms resting on the railing, supporting his weight, as he watched the sun slowly going down over the city, smoking his cigarette while holding the glass in his other hand. He sighed deeply, puffing out little clouds of smoke with every exhale.

He heard the door being opened and closed again, and someone approaching. He didn't need to look back to know exactly who was standing right behind him.

"She's gone now," Chloe spoke up, her voice almost a whisper.

He nodded lightly, taking another drag from his cigarette.

Chloe stepped closer towards him, her hands moved along his lower arm carefully, hoping that he wouldn't pull away again. She breathed a sigh of relief she didn't know she was holding, as he allowed her to touch him. Her hands resting on his arm, feeling the warmth of his body beneath the thin fabric, she rested her chin against his upper arm, relishing the close contact.

"I hadn't made you if I'd known you'd hate me for it," Lucifer spoke softly, blinking back the tears from his eyes.

He sounded so sad, she felt her heart cut to pieces. She tilted her head a little and placed a kiss onto his arm. "I don't hate you, Lucifer," she clarified, kissing him once more on the spot and caressing across his arm. "I'm glad you brought me back." She rested her head back against his arm, adding: "Just give me some time, would you?"

The nod he made was so lightly, it was barely noticeable. He took another drag, stubbed out the rest of his cigarette and flicked it away, taking the drink in his other hand and turning his lower arm upside down. He spread his fingers and Chloe moved her hand across his palm, intertwining her fingers with his, holding tight and snuggling deeper into him. They stood there next to each other, silently watching the sun disappear behind the horizon.

* * *

 **A/N** : That's it for today. I hope you liked it :D next chapter will start with Dan paying Lucifer a visit so don't miss that out ;)

Have a nice day!

:o)


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Hello my dear readers. Sorry for the delay upload and the short chapter. I now got hold of the second season and wohoow they were awesome! Couldn't take my eyes off of them, especially of episode 5 and 6 and there will be a little story of how Lucifer burried Uriel up here soon. Couldn't get that out of my mind, since. :D

 **Edit** : This chapter **is** **now** **beta-read** thanks to Daemon. Any remaining mistakes are my own :D

Enjoy!

* * *

Chloe was bent over the basin, leaning onto her arms that were placed on both sides, supporting her weight. She felt the cold marble beneath her hands as she pressed them down, concentrating on the picture in the mirror. She squinted her eyes, clenching her teeth so much she feared they could break any minute, but it worked: For a split second the woman who stared back at her was herself, without the cuts and the blood on her face. As the picture turned back to her dead self, she exhaled audibly, panting with exhaustion. Her reflection didn't scare her any longer. She sighed relieved, knowing that soon she'd have enough power to let it disappear for as long as she wanted.

A knock sounded on the door and Chloe turned her head towards it. "Yes?"

" _Can I come in?_ " She heard Lucifer ask and quickly gave her consent.

The door was slowly opened and he stepped inside, smirking at her as he said teasingly: "Too bad, I thought you were naked."

Chloe chuckled at his comment. She was glad that his mood had turned back to his cheerful, smug self. Thoughts at the previous evening suddenly came back into her mind, saddening her smile. She saw his hurt eyes looking at her before her inner eye, heard his words he had screamed at her resounding through her ears. She hadn't needed Linda's clarification to know at that moment that he did love her. Somehow she'd felt it all the time. But it was good to have somebody confirm that she wasn't imagining things; that she wasn't making it up in her head.

Lucifer sighed as he recognised her staring at him for a little bit too long. It made him feel uncomfortable, as if she could see into him, and it scared him. He was new to all these feelings and, moreover, their uncontrollability. "Well," he started, putting back on his _everything-is-perfect_ smile as he questioned: "What are you doing in here? You're taking ages to get ready."

"What Linda had recommended to me," she answered, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes at that. Knowing that he was unaware of what she had told her, she added with a tad sarcasm in her voice: "Embracing my new self."

"Uh-huh," he exclaimed astounded, his smile turning into a real one. "And how is it going?"

She decided to show him the answer, turning back to the mirror and concentrating again. Her reflection changed to her unscathed self, this time even for a couple of seconds, before she was too exhausted to maintain it and it vanished again.

Lucifer stepped next to her, visibly proud. He smiled all over the face. "You're getting more powerful."

Chloe nodded, lowering her head and taking a deep liberating breath. She felt much better now, but still hadn't the strength to straighten herself. As she looked up again, her arms still supporting her weight, she eyed his reflection in the mirror. She thought back at the moment he showed her his eyes burning with fire. Yes, they were scary, but hadn't it been the whole situation she suddenly had found herself into, they wouldn't have scared her to the bones. She thought back at the people who were terrified by his look, and she wondered if his eyes were the only thing that had caused it. She rummaged into her brain, finding the memory of when she had shot him and the image she had seen in the reflection of the metal next to him; the image she couldn't explain and therefore had locked away deep down inside of her. "Lucifer," she suddenly spoke up, bringing him and herself out of their thoughts. Awaiting his "mm" to know that she had his full attention, she continued: "Do you have a true face? Something that you show others to scare them, or is it just your eyes?"

The ground became suddenly very attractive and he stared down, considering very carefully in his mind if he should answer her or not. Something inside of him still feared that if she would see how he really looked, she would run away for good. He swallowed the lump in his throat that had started to block his lungs, keeping him from breathing properly, and sighed deeply. "I have a second face, so to speak. I received it from my father as a gift when he cast me out of heaven. When I fell down and landed in hell, the fires were burning so hot they cauterised my skin," he explained to her, his voice so low that she really had to concentrate on listening to not miss any words. "Quite fitting for the devil to literally look like a spawn from hell, don't you think?" he added with a chuckle, looking up at her.

She saw the hurt in his eyes, and again had to fight the urge to fall around his neck, hugging him tight and kissing his pain away. She took a deep breath, turning around to face him, and questioned: "Can I see it?"

His eyes locked with hers, searching for any hint that could tell him how she would react. But truth to be told, he didn't know it. He had to trust her, that she would still see _him_ , regardless of his appearance. Slowly, he nodded, stepping behind her and gesturing her to look in the mirror. He raised his hands, carefully placing them on her shoulders, allowing himself some comfort in the touch.

Chloe attentively watched his reflection in the mirror. His eyes started to burn with fire and slowly his skin disappeared, leaving the raw flesh beneath that was streaked with deep, dark scars. The fire in his eyes vanished, revealing dark, rust-coloured shining pupils. She startled deeply and quickly turned around, grabbing around him and burying her face deep into his chest.

Lucifer was surprised at her reaction; not that she got scared, but that she instantly looked for comfort in his embrace. He quickly changed back and held her tight, waiting patiently until she was ready to look up again. "Seems you don't want to run away from me, huh," he stated with a smile that quickly faded as he saw her looking up to him with tears in her eyes. "Did I scare you that much?" he questioned deeply worried.

She lightly shook her head, causing the salty drops to fall down her cheeks, before she responded: "How could he do this to you? Your own father, how could he be so cruel?" Her voice failed and her jaw started to tremble as she suppressed the sobs that wanted to leave her. Being a mother herself, she couldn't even imagine to do something like this to her own daughter, no matter what she had done.

The astonishment in his face ceased and his lips turned into a warm smile. He couldn't have imagined her reaction any better and sighed with relief. He cupped her cheeks, wiping away the tears with his thumbs. "You are truly one of a kind, Detective Decker," he whispered, lowering himself and kissing her dearly onto her forehead, before he took her back into a tight hug. Resting his cheek against her hair, he rubbed across her back, calming her down.

/-/

Lucifer sat on the piano in LUX, wearing a pleasant smile on his lips. He felt light-hearted, thinking back to the moment in the bathroom. True, she was his demon now, but still too much of a human and her reaction made him feel accepted; a feeling he didn't know he had longed for in the first place. He chuckled lightly while he played the first happy song since her death. His fingers skimmed across the keys, coaxing cheerful sounds out of the grand as he stroke up "Golden years" by David Bowie for a second time.

A door was slammed shut with a loud bang, interrupting him in his play and he looked up, seeing Dan rushing down the stairs and heading directly towards him. "Detective douche, what can I help you with?" he asked overly friendly, flashing him a smug smile before he turned his attention back to the black and white keys in front of him.

Dan didn't reply to it, he was too angry to open his mouth. He had made a bee-line to LUX after he'd dropped Trixie off at school. He'd repeated his tirade over and over again in his mind while he'd driven to the night club, but now no words were left to voice. All he wanted to do was to punch that cheesy grin right out of his face. He darted forward, and without warning, did what he had in mind.

The first hit took Lucifer by surprise and he was knocked from his stool by the impact, landing on the ground. "Son of a bitch! What was that for?" he yelled at him, wiping away the trail of blood that left the corner of his mouth and standing back up.

"You damn bugger! Don't you dare to come ever near my child again. Understood?" the detective spat at him, trying to hold back the urge to leap forward and make a second strike.

Lucifer stared at him flabbergasted, he had absolutely no idea what's gotten into this human being all of a sudden. "What is wrong with you?"

"Don't you have enough women around you? Did you really need to molest a child? My child?" he ranted on, ignoring the other man's question.

"Are you out of your mind? I didn't molest your daughter!" Lucifer yelled back, straightening himself; he was disgusted by the accusation.

"Really?" Dan huffed, not believing that this man had the gall to deny it. "You did not put her onto your bed, touched her and made her promise to not tell anyone so you won't get into trouble?" he yelled at him, the rage inside of him almost brimming over.

Lucifer stared at him, puzzled. The facts themselves were all true, but how could this man put them into the wrong context and draw this awful conclusion out of them? "Don't know what's up in your sick mind, but I did not touch Trixie in any inappropriate way, Dan!" he declared, not letting the other one out of his eyes as he stared dangerously dark at his opponent.

"So you call my daughter a liar?" Dan countered, seething with anger. He clenched his fists again. Stepping back and forth, mentally torn between flight and attack.

"No!" he denied loudly, explaining in a more decent tone: "I had a present for your daughter, that lied on my bed. I picked her up, carried her to the bed and put her down. Then I left. Nothing else happened!" He sighed, grabbing the glass from his piano and taking a sip. "Believe me, I didn't harm your daughter in any way," he assured him once again.

"If this is true, then what present are you talking about?" the detective questioned, putting more anger into his voice than he actually felt after the other one's explanation.

"I can't tell you. It's a secret," Lucifer denied, shaking his head.

"Alright! You either tell me what it was or I'll go directly to the office and report that you have sexually molested a minor!" Dan threatened, gesturing wildly with his finger, pointed at Lucifer, to give points to his words.

Lucifer was stunned, he raised his arms and let them drop back down, shaking his head in bewilderment. "I can't tell you." He couldn't risk spilling it. No matter what would happen to him, he had to protect Chloe.

Dan huffed again. He didn't care about this man anymore. No matter what goodness his ex saw in him, for him he was just a deranged pain in the ass. Shall the SAU deal with him. He was done! "Well, don't then!" he countered calmly, turning around.

"The present was me!" Chloe suddenly spoke up, stepping out of the floor to the office. She had been alerted by the shouts and had rushed out of the little room, but had kept her cover even as she heard Dan's accusation, all this time suppressing the urge to walk up to Lucifer's defence. But hearing Dan threatening to arrest Lucifer for something he hadn't done, was too much. She had to protect him.

Dan froze as he heard the familiar voice behind him. At first, he didn't dare to turn around, fearing that his mind might have just played him a trick, but then the need for affirmation got the better of him. Slowly he turned around, gaping with mouth and eyes wide open as he got sight of her. "Chloe?" He shook his head, not wanting to believe it.

In this moment Maze leaped forward from the side, landing a hit right on his head and knocking him unconscious to the ground. "Sorry, reflex," she faked an apology, grinning widely.

* * *

 **A/N:** That's it for now. Yes, it will continue with Dan and Chloe finally having a "chat". Hope you liked it so far. Please let me know.

Have a nice day!

:o)


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Hello my dear readers. RL is keeping me very busy the following week, so my apologies in advance, but the next chapter will be up at the weekend after that.

 **Edit:** This chapter **is** **now** **beta-read** thanks to Daemon. Any remaining mistakes are my own :D

Enjoy!

* * *

Dan slowly awoke. It took him a moment to realise where he was: He sat on one of the couches in LUX. His head was throbbing and reflexively, he grabbed at the back of his head, feeling the bump and cringing in pain at the touch. "What the heck just happened?" he questioned, looking around.

"I did," Maze answered, a smug smile on her lips. She stood at the side, watching him with her arms folded in front of her chest, playfully waving a dagger around with her hand.

Dan stopped paying attention to her as he locked eyes with the woman he had buried a week ago. He took a deep breath, sorting his thoughts and calming himself down. For a moment he didn't know what to say. There were a million and one questions running through his mind right now, but still none of them managed to pass the barrier to his tongue. He stared back and forth between Chloe and Lucifer, standing in front of him, closely next to each other, as if they waited for his cue. "Why aren't you dead?" he finally spoke up, his voice deep, hinting at the anger that started to well up inside of him.

"Well isn't that a nice greeting, detective douche," Lucifer replied, dripping with sarcasm. He briefly turned to Chloe to check on her, before he gazed back at Dan. He had one arm in front of his chest, resting his other elbow in his hand and lightly tapping his chin with his forefinger. The smile on his lips didn't reach his eyes that glowered in a dangerously dark tone towards his opponent.

Chloe looked down onto her shoes. She felt uncomfortable about the situation and didn't know what to answer. Somehow she didn't want to lie to him, but she couldn't tell him that she was a demon now, either. She sighed deeply before she looked back up at him, stating lowly: "I'm back again."

Dan was raised as a catholic, as it was custom in his community. But he didn't believe in sudden resurrection, especially not since he'd worked in the vice division during the first two years as a police officer. He had seen too many people faking death or identity to go undercover or get out of it. And truth to be told, the only time he'd _seen_ her dead, were the five minutes when he had to identify her body at a 3 metre distance from behind a glass window. He shook his head, chuckling lowly, as he thought back at the moment. He had grieved for her, had mourned her death, and now she was standing in front of him, saying nothing else than that she is back, after a week she had probably spent with that freak at her side. The anger in him rose to a new high. "Why, Chloe? Was it because of a case? That meeting you had with that informant? Why are you all of a sudden standing right in front of me? Didn't you feel the need to tell me sooner somehow?" The questions spouted out of him.

"I couldn't tell anyone. It was too dangerous," Chloe answered, her voice getting lower. She locked her eyes back to the floor as she processed his words, not knowing what to say next. Suddenly it shot into her mind that he himself had just offered her the best way out. Her head went back up and she stared at him, telling the tale: "That day, the informant told me a bunch of sensitive things that had put me in great danger -"

"So? You just faked an entire accident?" Dan interrupted, glaring at her.

She shook her head. "The accident was real, but they could revive me in the ambulance. I know some people who still owed me a favour, and they helped me," she lied left, right and centre. "No one else knows that I'm alive, Dan, except for the people inside this room, and Trixie of course."

Lucifer stared at her from out of the corners of his eyes, one eyebrow raised in amazement about her not even getting the tiniest bit red at the lie she just trotted out. He hid the smirk that stretched his lips behind his hand before he was able to put on a stern expression and lowered his arm again, stowing his hands into his pockets.

Dan wiped with his hands across his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief. "And while you were here, playing hide and seek with that ass you call partner, you let everyone else think you were dead," he chuckled at his own words, shaking his head again. He'd seen Lucifer at the funeral with tears in his eyes. Damn, that man was the best actor he'd gotten to know. At this moment, any love he had once felt for his ex-wife vanished completely, leaving nothing behind but hatred. "Did you ever spend one single thought at what you had put us through? What you had put Trixie through with that little stunt?" he yelled the last question, standing up from the couch before he ranted on. "I had to call an ambulance twice that night! They even had to give her some sedatives, because she couldn't stop crying and screaming for her mother. Did you have any idea what you did to our child?"

"It wasn't her fault!" Lucifer countered loudly, backing her up. Clueless or not, Dan's unfair behaviour towards her made his blood boil with anger. He clenched his fists, and Chloe quickly put a hand on his arm to prevent him from stepping forward and do something impulsive.

She swallowed the huge lump in her throat that had formed at his words. The last thing she wanted was her daughter to suffer, or Dan glaring at her with hate-filled eyes. "I had no choice, believe me, Dan."

"No choice?" he mocked. "You damn well had a choice, Chloe. You chose him over us!" he spat, pointing at Lucifer. "But you know what? I don't have to deal with you anymore. Do whatever you want. We're done. Stay out of my life, and out of Trixie's," he ordered through gritted teeth, heading for the stairs.

"What do you mean with ' _stay out of Trixie's life_ '?" Chloe stared at him aghast, fear creeping up her spine.

Dan stopped in his movement, lowering the hand again that had already gripped the handrail as he turned back to her. "You're officially dead, Chloe," he countered angrily, but retained a calm tone in his voice. "That means I have full custody of her. And I will make sure that you will never see her again. She's been through enough in her short life. She doesn't need your shit on top of that, too."

"You can't do this, Dan. You can't take my daughter away from me," Chloe cried out, shaking her head and wildly waving with her arms before she put them around her waist, hugging tight to shield herself from the cold she suddenly felt inside of her.

"Oh, yes! I can, and I will," he spat back, turned around and jogged up the stairs, slamming the door shut behind him as he left.

Chloe stared after him, still in shock about his words. She started to shiver, and suddenly her legs turned into jelly and she collapsed. It was only thanks to Lucifer's quick reflexes that she didn't hit the ground. He pressed her against himself, hugging her tight.

"Don't worry, I'll figure something out," he assured her, running his hands across her back. He looked up towards the exit door, his eyes revealing the helplessness he felt.

/-/

Still trembling like a leaf, Lucifer guided Chloe to the couch in his apartment and sat her down. He quickly went for a blanket, tucking it carefully around her after he'd returned.

"What are you doing?" she questioned in a dead voice, staring at him with blank eyes.

Lucifer looked up, a warm smile on his lips, as he sat down on the coffee table opposite to her. "Keeping you warm. You're cold," he explained softly. He didn't know what else to do to help her, and the lack of emotion in her voice stirred up a feeling of insecurity inside of him. He was used to reacting towards people according to the feelings they showed towards him, but how could he do that, when there weren't any at all.

Chloe pushed the blanket off of her. "This won't help. I'm feeling cold right here," she explained, pointing with her finger onto her heart. Dan's words still ran around in her head at a 100 miles per hour speed. She couldn't sort them, couldn't process them. The fear of losing her daughter again numbed everything else.

"Right! I'll make you some hot tea then," he suggested in a friendly manner, standing up. He was about to disappear into the kitchen as he heard her speaking up again.

"And how is that supposed to help?" She suddenly felt the urge to move her legs and stood up, walking a couple of steps across the room.

Lucifer turned around. Seeing her so distressed vexed him, especially since it seemed that this time, his close presence to her didn't work. He walked back to her, putting a hand on her arm to stop her from pacing. "Like I told you, I'll figure something out, don't worry," he assured her, trying to calm her down.

"Don't worry?" Chloe repeated, suddenly enraged, pushing his hand away from her. "What do you wanna do? Go to the court and say ' _Surprise, Chloe is alive, can she please have her daughter back_ '?" she mocked in anger, backing away from him as he did a step towards her.

"Calm down!" Lucifer ordered. He was glad that she finally showed some emotions, but didn't like it at all that he was the current receiver of them. "You're not helping anyone with your outburst," he countered calmly, trying to appeal to her reason. He felt the urge to go straight to the douche and give him some piece of his own mind about how it feels to be separated from the one you love. Maybe by showing him directly and taking the spawn with him, but then he really would be listed on the naughty side of the book; he wouldn't have minded, if it wasn't Chloe who wrote it.

The anger inside of her rose at his words. "Did it ever work calming a person down, by telling them to calm down?" she yelled at him furiously.

For a short moment, he was taken aback at her sudden shout, but quickly shrugged it off. After all it wasn't him she was actually angry with. But it was him who could help her soothe her feelings and get better, he thought and stepped forward, grabbing her with both of his hands and holding her tight.

"Let go off me!" Chloe hissed, her eyes turning several shades darker as she glared at him, trying to get free.

Lucifer didn't listen, he was profoundly convinced that if he just held her long enough, she would eventually calm down. He hugged her tighter.

At this instant, something inside of her snapped. She screamed at him "Leave me alone!" and pushed him away. She didn't know where the strength had come from, but suddenly he was flying through the room and hitting the liquor wall, smashing all the bottles as he fell down to the floor.

"Lucifer!" she shrieked, horrified at herself, and rushed to him. "Are you alright? Did I hurt you?" The worry and surprise lifted her voice an octave higher. All the anger inside of her was gone with the concern about him.

Lucifer sat against the wall, feeling the sharp corners of the glass shelf poking into his back. He looked around, seeing all the destroyed bottles lying at both of his sides, the liquid pouring out of them and drenching the floor. All of a sudden, he started to chuckle, looking up at her with bright sparkling eyes and a wide grin across his face. "Seems your powers just made a great leap forward," he exclaimed cheerfully.

"What?" Chloe couldn't believe her ears. "I just threw you across the room into a wall and you're happy about it? Did you hit your head?" she questioned still flabbergasted, helping him up.

"No, my dear, I'm perfectly fine," he countered cheerfully. His grin turned into a smug smile and his eyes leered at her. It had taken Maze a couple of centuries before she was strong enough to fight against him, and having witnessed Chloe's strengths coming to life so soon did not only give him a rush, he felt quite aroused at that. "At least you have finally calmed down," he teased her, locking his inner desires away quickly and turning back to the _caring_ devil. He rubbed across her arms, smiling warmly, to assure her that he was fine. Turning around, he went to the side that was still intact, taking two glasses and a bottle and heading for the couch.

He sat down, placing the glasses on the table and holding the bottle in his right hand; with his left, he patted on the side next to him, signalling her to take a seat, before he poured them both a drink.

The shock about herself was still visible in her face as Chloe sat down next to him, eyeing him warily.

"Drink!" he ordered with a charming voice, holding the glass towards her.

Chloe grabbed it and did what she was told. The liquid burned down her throat and into her stomach. She hadn't even time to put the glass fully down onto the table as he poured her a second one, ordering her again to drink it. She eyed at him, clueless about his intentions with that, but still obeyed. Seeing him still holding the bottle in his hands, she didn't even try to put it down this time, simply holding it towards him.

Lucifer poured her a double one, but this time commanded: "Now only sip." He smiled pleased as she followed his order again. Setting the bottle aside, he finally took his own glass into his hand, resting himself against the backrest as he sipped at it, his eyes still fixed on her.

"You're weird," Chloe commented, eyeing him suspiciously. She didn't know what he had in mind, but did feel the effect of the alcohol in her system, calming her down.

He cocked his head to one side, smirking at her. "Just me being a little bit proud," he replied nonchalantly, stretching his arm and tucking a loose strand behind her ear. His hand slid down, resting on her shoulder and continuing stroking her hair. "You alright?" he asked, his voice warm and caring, while he rolled a blonde strand between his fingers.

Her eyes became gloomy, but she quickly swallowed the emotions down. Putting on a straight mask and forcing a smile, she answered with a nod.

Without a word, he put his drink down, taking hers from out of her grip and placing it on the table, too. Then his hand on her shoulder moved down to her back and his other hand went under her knees.

All of a sudden she found herself sitting in his lap. She quickly rested her hands on his chest, using them to keep a distance between them, as he hugged her tighter against him. His other hand ran across her back, while he stared at her with dark eyes. "You're such a bad liar!" he teased her and a smirk lifted the corners of his lips.

There it was again, the tingle in her belly as if thousands of butterflies awoke all at once. Admitting defeat, she let her head drop down onto his chest, moving her hands up and around his neck, hugging him tight as she snuggled deeper into him. She took a deep breath, inhaling his scent, and sighed audibly as she felt her nerves finally relax.

Lucifer chuckled lightly, pecking her head. He moved a little upwards, stretching out onto the couch. His head rested on one of the pillows, and his little demon detective was cradled safely in his arms as he allowed them both some rest.

* * *

 **A/N:** End of chapter :D I hope you liked it, please let me know :D

Have a nice day and a nice next week!

:o)


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N** : Hello my dear readers. I was struggling with this chapter a lot, not because of the text, that was easily done, but because this chapter is actually just the first part (the moment between Chloe and Lucifer in his penthouse). But since the second part was with Dan again, it just didn't feel right to upload the chapter completely. I actually like it more with this being their moment alone. I hope you don't mind. It's very short though, but I hope you still like it.

 **Edit:** This chapter **is** **now** **beta-read** thanks to Daemon. Any remaining mistakes are my own :D

Enjoy!

* * *

Chloe moved her head towards the centre of his chest, snuggling into him and listening to the soothing rhythm of his heartbeat. The warmth of his body wrapped her up like a blanket and the weight of his arm around her shoulders, which lightly pressed her into his chest, gave her a sense of safety. With every breath he took, her body was slightly lifted up and down. They were even; it almost seemed as if he was deep asleep, if not his thumb on her shoulder, rubbing little circles across the skin, and his other hand that had hers encompassed, caressing with his fingertips across her palm and sending little tingling sensations through her body, would give away that he was actually wide awake. She ignored the pins and needles in her arm that was stuck underneath her, even as the pain intensified. She simply didn't want to move and risk losing the close contact between them that she relished to the fullest right now.

Unfortunately, her new demon traits betrayed her. His chest vibrated mildly as she heard him chuckle, and then he moved, turning both their bodies around and sending her with her back onto the cushion top. He supported his weight on his underarm, freeing her arm, but also increasing the space between them. It didn't help that he still had his legs entangled with hers, she felt cold from the lack of closeness. A low grumble escaped her throat and she frowned.

Lucifer chuckled again. "Don't do that," he teasingly reproached her, bending down and kissing the spot between her eyebrows. "You're too pretty for worry lines." He smiled pleased as he saw her brows relax, letting the wrinkles disappear again.

Chloe smirked and playfully slapped his chest. "I felt completely fine," she muttered.

"Well, my arm felt as if someone had suddenly used it as a pin cushion," he countered, intertwining his free hand with hers and moving her arm up above her head to his other hand, as he lowered his head, pecking her cheek. He stopped with his face closely above hers, inhaling her sweet scent. His eyes fell onto her lips, tracing their contours, and for a moment he wondered if they would feel as soft as they looked. His eyes darkened, and he quickly pushed down the urge to move forward and test it. Still, he felt the need to eliminate the space again and to shield her from the air around them. His heart pounded heavily in his ears, blocking out every other sound, as he lowered himself onto her until he felt her fragile body pressed back into his.

With every inhale she made, her hard nipples poked into his chest, disclosing her arousal. She took a deep breath, completely relaxing into his touch and letting him take the lead.

For an instant, Lucifer let down his guard, relishing the moment as he bent down again, first kissing her forehead and then moving back to her cheek, kissing the skin a little closer to her lips. A soft purr escaped his throat as he brushed with his nose against hers, sending a shiver down his spine and heating him up from inside. He needed all his willpower to not ravish her right away and he lifted his head up again, staring into her eyes with his pupils that had turned completely black.

"Chloe, please, tell me to stop," he pleaded soft-spoken, cupping her cheek and caressing across her skin that felt as smooth as silk.

She only shook her head, declining his plea with a whispered "No." Her one arm still above her head, she grasped his fingers tightly, moving with her other arm around his back, rubbing across his muscles, and further up to his shoulder, grabbing his collar and holding fast.

His thumb moved from her cheek to her lips, lightly brushing over them, and his heart skipped a beat as he felt the tender flesh beneath his finger. Unconsciously, he wetted his own lips as the thoughts came back into his mind, telling him about the things he wanted to do to them right now. He inhaled deeply, squinting his eyes shut. The feeling of her beneath him, her sweet scent, her soft skin, all these sensations that rushed around inside of him as if he was on a rollercoaster, letting him feel emotions he couldn't even name, were almost too much for him to handle.

He swallowed again, trying to search for any self-control that was left inside, but all he found was this one question _'Why not?'_ that jumped around in his head like a rubber ball. "What are you doing to me, detective?" he sighed out, locking eyes with her again.

Chloe smiled warmly at him, her cheeks glowing red in arousal. "Just shut up and kiss me already," she countered provokingly. She shifted her body beneath him and chuckled in victory as a low, husky growl escaped his throat, giving away that she'd hit the mark.

Any other woman he'd jumped in the blink of an eye. He couldn't explain why this wasn't the case with the detective. Why he hesitated so strongly against his own carnal desires. Even with her, lying ready and willing beneath him, he felt as if an invisible force kept him away from her. Like two identically poled magnets that repel each other. But he wanted to taste her lips so badly; he wanted her.

He lowered his head again, moving his hand to the back of her neck and tilting her head slightly, as his lips came down onto hers, closing the gap and kissing her tenderly. Her lips felt even softer than he could have ever imagined, and his body relaxed and stiffened at the same time in all the right places. He literally saw stars flashing in front of his inner eye as he pressed his lips further down, kissing her with more passion.

He felt ecstatic: his whole body tingled, the blood rushed in his veins and he panted as if he'd just ran a mile. The feelings even intensified as he sucked in her upper lip, lightly nibbling on it, before he turned his attention back to her full lips. For a brief moment, he wondered if all these feelings belonged to him or were just projections of her arousal, but he quickly pushed that thought away. He didn't care. He just relished this awesome moment with his favourite demon-once-human on earth.

Her lips parted slightly and he gently pushed his tongue into her mouth. He had tasted a piece of heaven and couldn't stop anymore. He wanted everything, and he wanted it now. He pressed his lips further down on hers, pushing his tongue deeper into her mouth as he searched for hers. He quickly found it and rubbed with tender force against the muscle.

Suddenly his head started spinning and he felt a sensation overpowering him that he could only describe as a sun exploding inside of him. He startled and jumped, breaking the close contact as he hastily stood up, still panting heavily.

"What's wrong?" Chloe questioned completely gobsmacked, equally out of breath.

"I'm... I'm," he stuttered, but stopped the attempt to explain as he felt heat rising up on his cheeks. He was the devil! Never before he was out of words, and definitely never before had he blushed. But then again, never before had he met someone like Chloe, either.

He turned around, heading for the bar and pouring himself a double, gulping the liquid down and topping up again.

Chloe stood up, walking up to him. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, but stopped as he shirked from her as if she'd just landed a hit. She frowned deeply. "What'd just happened?"

"I don't know," he explained, lightly shaking his head and gulping the drink down, pouring himself another one.

She looked him up and down. He trembled like a leaf and looked like a baby in the woods, and she'd loved nothing better than hugging him close to her heart and protecting him from the world.

Lucifer had drunken his seventh drink by the time, but still felt no effect on his nerves. He shivered and felt a mixture of fear, worry, and being lost, and he absolutely had no idea how to end this. Distracted by his own mind, he didn't recognise as Chloe stepped forward again and suddenly embraced him in a bear hug, running her hands across his back and holding tight onto the fabric of his shirt. She lay her head onto his chest, right above his heart. For a moment he was scared stiff, but his muscles relaxed quickly under her touch. He sighed relieved, and then chuckled about the irony that he, the devil, had been calmed down by a woman.

Somehow the world must have suddenly turned upside down.

* * *

 **A/N:** So, this is the end of the very short chapter. As I said, the next moment is with Dan, but for me it didn't flow reading something sensual at first and then go off to detective douche; it felt as if the abrupt change disturbed the whole chapter. Anyway! What are your thoughts on that?

Have a nice day!

:o)


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:** Hello my dear readers. Sorry that this chapter took me so long to upload. I had a really dear reader who pointed out to me that in the first four chapters Chloe and Lucifer were out of line and that their thoughts weren't really comprehensible. I went back, re-read the chapters and changed them. I added the thoughts they had (especially Chloe) about why they behaved a certain way or felt a certain way. And I also added a talk between Lucifer and Linda in the 3rd and the 6th chapter, because Lucifer went a bit short. So, here it is, the next chapter. After that, only three chapters are left, so enjoy :D

 **Edit:** This chapter **is** **now** **beta-read** thanks to Daemon. Any remaining mistakes are my own :D

Enjoy!

* * *

"Hey monkey," Dan called his daughter as he saw her exiting the school building, squatting down and spreading his arms.

Trixie ran towards him, jumping up and falling around her father's neck. "Daddy! You've made it on time," she shouted out with joy.

He hugged her tight, patting across her back, before he let go of her again and stood back up, taking her school bag in one hand and his daughter's hand into his other, as he guided her back to the car. "How was your day?" he questioned, gazing down at her.

Trixie shrugged her shoulders. "OK," she replied nonchalantly. Her eyes started to beam and she gave her father a toothy grin as she added: "Can we go to Lucifer?"

Dan took a deep breath. The whole day he had gone through this discussion with her in his head. He had hoped that she'd give him a chance to drive her back home where he could bring up the topic in a secure ambience, but no, like with his ex-wife, this man was the first thing on his daughter's mind. He gritted his teeth in anger, but quickly swallowed down the emotion, clothing his face with a smile as he opened the passenger door. Looking around to avoid her gaze, he waited until she hopped inside and then closed it shut again. "Buckle up," he ordered in a friendly manner and jogged to the driver's side, tossing the bag on the back seat as he got behind the wheel, driving off.

Twenty minutes of silence had passed in the car, as Trixie suddenly made herself bigger to better look out of the windows. She knew the streets of L.A. very well, too well. "Daddy, that's not the way to Lucifer's," she informed him with a frown.

Dan sighed again, admitting: "I'm not driving you to Lucifer." He slowed down as more and more cars congested the street. Even four lanes were too little during rush hours.

"Why not? Mu-" Trixie stopped abruptly, realising her mistake on time and quickly changed the word: "My present is there, I wanna go to my present." She gazed at her father with her big brown eyes, awaiting his reply.

Both his eyes were fixed on the traffic, attentively watching the other drivers switching lanes and the traffic lights changing colour. "Honey," he started, inhaling deeply and taking his courage in both hands. "I know that your mum is with Lucifer. I met her this morning," he explained, not daring to look at his daughter. In his mind, he'd already depicted any possible reaction of her to what he was going to say, and none of them was pleasant.

Trixie beamed all over her face at his words. Finally, she didn't have to lie to him any longer. "Then why don't we go to her right now?" she questioned, her mood still in a good temper.

"I can't let her hurt you anymore, monkey." He briefly gazed down at her, seeing her puzzled face. "I know you won't understand this now, but you will later, trust me."

"Mummy didn't hurt me! She came back for me," Trixie countered, suddenly feeling her guts turning upside down. She didn't like the feeling this kind of talk stirred up inside of her.

"She faked her death. She made her decision to leave us. Believe me, Trixie. It's better to keep her out of our life. Just keep in mind, we buried her. Your mum is dead." He stepped on the brakes, slowing the car further down to step speed. There was simply no progress at this time of the day.

"She didn't fake it!" Trixie yelled at him, full of anger. "Lucifer brought her back. To me! So we can be together again." Tears welled up into her eyes and she quickly wiped them off. "I wanna see my mummy. Now!" she demanded determined.

"No!" Dan shook his head, he was certain to stand his ground. The longing for this man needed an end in both of his women's lives. Even though he couldn't dictate how Chloe was living hers, he could and would make sure that Trixie didn't get affected by it any longer.

"I hate you!" Trixie screamed at him from the top of her lungs, tears streaming down her face. She unbuckled the belt, opened her door and ran out of the car, completely ignoring that it was still rolling on the streets.

Dan screamed after her in panic. He quickly stopped the car, unbuckled himself and ran after his daughter.

The cars on the streets honked in anger, but fortunately every driver had been aware of the little girl running across the street, and had stopped immediately.

She had almost reached the footpath as suddenly a truck appeared in front of her, honking like crazy and braking hard. The tires squealed, blocking, and the vehicle slipped across the asphalt. She heard her father scream her name in panic as it was mere inches away from her. Suddenly a quick thinking pedestrian rushed forward, grabbed her, and pulled her off the street and into safety.

Dan was quickly at her side, grabbing her from out of the man's grip and hugging her tightly as he lifted her up. Seeing his daughter almost getting hit made his heart stop. He felt great relief as he could hold Trixie, who was trembling like a leaf now, securely in his arms. "Thank you so much!" he addressed the man, running his hand across her back to calm her down.

"No prob, man!" He looked at the little bundle in Dan's arm, caringly ruffling with one hand through her hair as he added: "Hey, young lady, next time you play Chicken game with a truck, make sure you have Thor's hammer with you." He winked at her, a cheeky grin on his face.

Trixie looked at the man, who was barely of drinking-age, and slowly came out of her shock. She turned to her father, remembering why she had been running from him in the first place, and started kicking and screaming again: "I want my mummy! Bring me to my mummy or I hate you for the rest of my life!"

"Oh, I have a phone with me. Want me to call her?" the man suggested, seeing that Dan had both of his hands full with keeping Trixie at bay.

"No. Her mum is dead," he lied to him, not wanting to explain that piece of information to a stranger.

"She's not!" Trixie screamed at him, denying vehemently. "You just don't like it that she's living with Lucifer now. I want my mummy!"

Dan sighed deeply, he was nearly deaf on the ear his daughter kept screaming into and needed all his self-control to not freak out himself, shake her and yell back.

"Yo man!" the rescuer started, putting both his hands up to show him that he didn't mean any harm, as he stated: "Don't know what's going on in your life right now, but let me tell you something. I was twelve when my parents got divorced. It went pretty nasty and my mother got full custody of me. Even though my dad and me were pretty close, my mum didn't want me to see him. She was angry at him and wanted him to suffer. She even told everyone else that he was dead. Just like you do now. But guess what, I suffered as well. And I hated her for doing that to me. As soon as I turned 18, I moved out. I haven't talked to her since." He halted shortly to put more weight on what he was about to say: "You know, children need both their parents. No matter what's between you and her mum, don't let your daughter pay for it. You don't want her to run away a second time and get hit by a truck for real, do you?"

Dan stared at him, speechless. He nodded politely to the other one, turned around and walked back to his car. The words of the young man still resounded through his head as he got inside, placing a now very silent child on the passenger seat, quickly buckling her up, before he drove off.

/-/

Lucifer was inside the shower cubicle, letting the hot water run down his back muscles for half an hour by now. He finally understood why humans needed so long to get ready. The warm water was like a blanket, wrapped around him while his thoughts recalled the moment of their kiss and the unfamiliar feelings that had started to stir inside of him. He still felt the soft skin of her lips on his own, her sweet taste, the sensation as their tongues finally met, and the strange feeling that made his whole body and mind turn upside down.

He didn't know what suddenly had come over him, but it was definitely something he wanted to discuss with the doctor later. He wrote himself a mental note, also adding the confusion his head seemed to be in lately: Whenever Chloe wasn't around, she was on his mind, and when she was with him, he couldn't think at all. If this really was some human trait, he wondered how people were even able to make it past the Stone Age, let alone develop computers, compose arias, or fly to the moon.

/-/

Chloe sat on the couch, a cup of hot tea in her hand and a blanket wrapped around her. The book she had intended to read still lay untouched on the table. She wanted to distract herself, but her mind didn't want to let go of Lucifer, to be precise of what had happened after they kissed. At first, it felt so lovely, his arms around her, his skin so close to hers, his lips, the tingling that ran through her whole body as they kissed, but then his sudden jump, him shirking away from her as she tried to hug him and the look on his face that seemed to scream _vulnerability_ towards her; that was nothing like the Lucifer she knew, and it frightened her, to say the least. She wanted to help him, to make it better, but she didn't know how. Especially not, since he avoided her after their embrace.

She glanced towards the bathroom door. He was in there for what felt like ages, and more than once she had to fight the urge to stand up and go inside. Bringing the cup to her lips, she took a large sip, letting the warm liquid run down her throat and heat up her stomach in a pleasant way. If he really felt everything like she did, good or bad, then, she hoped, she could make him feel better by making herself as comfortable as possible.

A ping resounded, announcing the arrival of the elevator, and Chloe looked up to the doors springing open. She nearly let her cup fall to the ground when she saw her daughter emerging from it. As if stung by a bee she jumped up from the couch, tossing the blanket aside carelessly, and spurted towards her, the surprise about the sudden event visible on her face.

"Mummy!" Trixie shouted out with joy, carrying the biggest relieved smile she was capable of. She ran towards her, her arms wide open and, as she was within reach, fell around her neck.

Chloe hugged her daughter tightly, pressing her gently but firmly close to her heart, as she lifted her up. One arm beneath her behind to steady her, she used the other one to ruffle through her hair, before she lightly pushed her daughter's head against her lips, giving her a big snog on the temple. Her scent was sweeter than she remembered and she gave her another kiss on her forehead. "Finally, I have you back, my little monkey," she whispered relieved, kissing her once more.

"I've missed you so much," Trixie whispered back, relishing the caress to the fullest. She clasped her legs around her mother's waist, snuggling into her.

Chloe still couldn't fully understand what just happened. Only just this morning her ex had declared to her that she would never see her daughter again, and now, barely seven hours later, she held her in her arms again. She sighed with relief, looking up at Dan who still stood at the elevator, one hand at the door to keep them from closing.

"I'll pick her up in an hour," he told her, his voice sounded cold and aloof.

"Thank you! Thank you so much," Chloe replied, the corners of her lips stretched upwards into a smile.

Dan shook his head. "I didn't do it for you!" he retorted gravelly, turning around and disappearing in the little cubicle.

Chloe stared after her ex, a little puzzled about his words, but she quickly forgot them as she looked down into the bright shining eyes of her daughter staring back at her.

"What just happened?" Lucifer suddenly spoke up, standing in the door frame of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his hips.

She turned towards him, showing him the answer.

"Oh," he exclaimed as he got sight of the bundle in her arms. A warm smile settled down on his face, hiding the surprise he felt, and he greeted her: "Hello, offspring."

"Hi Lucifer," Trixie replied with a Cheshire cat grin.

He closed the bathroom door, pointing towards his bedroom. "I'll just quickly get dressed," he explained and went off.

/-/

Dan stood in front of the grave, a wooden cross marked the place where the gravestone would be set in a year from now. He pursed his lips in anger, reading the inscription that was engraved into the wood. He chuckled scornfully, unwittingly shaking his head, as he kicked against the soil covering Chloe's grave.

"Hey Dan," a man greeted him, approaching him with a flower bouquet in his hand.

He looked towards him, greeting back: "Hey mate!" It was four months since he had spoken to his former colleague Derek. They both had started at the vice division before he moved to homicide two years later. The surprise he felt as Derek had suddenly contacted him was still vivid in his memory. He'd told him about a major case he was working on, a mammoth project, as he had called it. He didn't want to say anything about it, just that he needed someone trustworthy who could help him with his case. Dan himself had suggested Chloe to him, knowing she was the best. He chuckled at the irony. If it wasn't thanks to him, Chloe hadn't met with that informant, hadn't been in that accident and hadn't faked her death, and he still could have pretended they were somehow able to save their marriage.

As his former colleague stopped in front of him, they quickly hugged, clapping once across each other's back, before Derek took place next to him. He squatted down, lying the bouquet onto the soil, that still looked as if it was freshly raised. "Sorry that I couldn't make it to the funeral," he apologised, straightening himself back.

"No prob'!" Dan shrugged it off, his eyes fixed onto the flowers.

"So, what do you wanna talk to me about?" Derek questioned warily, eyeing him out of the corners of his eyes.

Dan shifted his gaze from the flowers up to the inscription and back again. "You still working on that mammoth project?" he wanted to know.

He shook his head. "We have nothing left. No proof, no information about anything. Two days after Chloe the informant also died, before we were even able to set another meeting with him."

Dan nodded absent-mindedly, processing the words and bringing his own thoughts to life. He stepped closer to his former colleague, stating under his breath: "Chloe is alive. She faked her death," he looked at Derek, seeing his eyes staring wide at him and his mouth gaping in astonishment, and he added, his voice filled with anger: "I didn't know. No one knew, actually. I found out today."

Derek took a deep breath, sorting his thoughts. He nodded slightly, replying: "Man, with this she probably saved your life. Yours and that of your daughter."

Dan stared at him, bewildered, the thousands of thoughts that ran through his mind suddenly disappeared. He grabbed him by the arm, his eyes showing the determination he felt about getting to know the truth. "Spit it out! Everything!"

* * *

 **A/N:** Don't know how it is in America, but in my country it takes a full year until the soil evens out completely, before we can put on the gravestone. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a comment and let me know (also if you didn't like something ;) ) .

Have a nice day!

:o)


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:** Hello my dears. Yes you've seen right. Another chapter of my story. There are only two till the end, so have fun reading it. I hope you like it. :D

Thank you to all who have read the last chapter, and those who had put the story on their favourite / story alert list :D I really appreciate that so many of you like it.

 **Edit:** This chapter **is** **now** **beta-read** thanks to Daemon. Any remaining mistakes are my own :D

Enjoy!

* * *

Chloe sat on the couch, wearing a pleasant smile on her face as she watched Lucifer showing _magic tricks_ to her daughter. To be more precise, he had a coin, depicted with a crucified Jesus inside a triangle on one side, and a devil's mask inside a pentagram on the other, and let it spin around in mid-air. Trixie shouted with glee, snatching it off of him and closely examining the little metal piece before she gave it back, watching him spin it around between his hands again, still trying to find out how he made it hover. Chloe gazed at the leftovers of the pizza inside the cardboard box. Not the ideal dinner choice, she knew, but had Trixie wanted chocolate cake and ice cream, she'd let her eat that as well.

It was way past the hour her ex had granted her, and she was grateful for every additional minute to relish the togetherness with her daughter. So, as a ping resounded again, she didn't even have to look up to know that it was Dan who arrived at the apartment. Still, her heart ached at the coming goodbye.

Lucifer enjoyed watching Trixie with her sparkling eyes and a full-teeth grin that seemed to span across her whole face, giving him all her attention. She sat closely opposite to him, and he didn't even mind that she touched his knees or hands or clapped loudly out of sheer joy. He totally blamed Chloe's feelings for her daughter for that, and the tight connection he and her shared since her conversion. Heavy footsteps came closer and he looked up towards the direction, his coin falling to the ground as he stopped concentrating on it. He fixed his eyes on detective douche, sending him an unwelcoming glare.

Startled by his sudden change in behaviour, Trixie looked up as well and instantly jumped up as she got sight of her father. She ran to her mother and clasped around her waist, holding tight and trying to hide herself from him.

Chloe protectively laid one arm onto her daughter's back, rubbing across it in a soothing manner and lightly pressing her against herself. Her free hand had her daughter's firmly encompassed as she watched him stopping right in front of them.

"I'm not leaving!" Trixie declared sternly, determined to stay with her mother.

Dan looked at her, hurt about the refusal, but as he saw the anger and fear in his daughter's eyes he knew, he deserved her mistrust. "Monkey, can I talk to your mum alone for a bit?" he asked her as gently as he could manage. "Us adults need to discuss something," he added to explain it to her.

Trixie tightened the grip around her mother, refusing to let go and turning her head.

The concern that flashed across the detective's face as he said the sentence made Lucifer aware that it was a serious issue he wanted to talk to them about; and this wasn't something for kids ears, he concluded. He stood up, walked towards Chloe and her daughter, and took a seat on the coffee table. He grabbed into his pocket, withdrawing the coin that seemed to have moved miraculously from the floor to his jacket, and held it out to Trixie. "Here little human, why don't you try to let it hover in mid-air in Maze's room for a bit, while we talk," he suggested to her with a warm smile. Seeing her worried eyes looking at him, he winked at her, assuring: "Don't worry. I'm much stronger than your dad. I won't allow him to take you forcefully." His what-sounded-like-a-promise seemed to work. Trixie looked up to her mother, hugging her quickly, before she grabbed the coin and ran off to the room.

"So, detective douche," Lucifer started, standing up and towering over Dan, his smile completely vanished. "What is it that makes you look like you've seen a ghost?" he questioned, squinting his eyes a little to make them appear darker. As he saw a tinge of fear arising onto the other's face, he grinned self-pleased and took a seat right next to Chloe, their bodies touching. He casually laid one arm around her, signifying that she was _his_ to the rival, and with his other gestured Dan to sit opposite of them.

Right after Dan had dropped her off, Trixie had told them about her near accident. Lucifer could not only feel the fear and worry that Chloe had felt for her daughter, turning his own stomach upside down in that moment as well, also his despite towards that human being rose to a new high. He was determined to protect his kind, Chloe, and her spawn, from any further harm, physically as well as emotionally. By force, if he had to. He rested himself against the backrest, gently pulling Chloe with him in the process to maintain body contact, and crossed his legs. His upper leg was halfway in front of her knees, bringing a physical barrier between her and her ex, and sending a non-verbal statement into both directions: to Chloe, that she was safe; and to Dan, that he should better not mess around with him.

Chloe was unusually quiet. She eyed her ex with a mixture of suspicion and precaution, snuggling up to Lucifer a bit more and searching for his hand for support. As she found it, she clasped around it, holding tight, before she breathed a low sigh of relief.

Dan eyed their close body contact, feeling jealousy stirring up inside of him. He let out a disgruntled huff, but remained silent nevertheless, knowing that he couldn't win her back anymore, anyway. He sat down onto the chair, explaining: "I just spoke to Derek from the vice division. That's why I'm a little late." He stopped briefly, taking a breath, before he continued: "Your informant died shortly after you. For real, I mean," he quickly added, being aware that she was pretty much alive. "He said it was likely that the people he was after got wind of him wanting to get out, and just let it look like an accident. He also assumed that your accident wasn't fully random." He halted again to let his words sink in.

Lucifer cocked his ears at this information. If this was true, then he would make sure to punish the people who were responsible for her death, and therewith denied her a life as a human. A tinge of anger arose from inside, and his eyes turned dark. Chloe sensed his tension and had to squeeze his hand really tight to get his attention and prevent him, and everyone else in the room, from a sudden outburst. They stared at each other, silently sharing some thoughts before they turned their attention back to Dan, continuing with listening to him.

"He didn't tell me any names or positions of those he was trying to convict. He said, to protect me. But he did tell me of his former partner, who had worked on this case before. He had received some anonymous threats to put down the case if he didn't want anything to happen to him or his family. They continued nevertheless and soon, Derek had to bury him, his wife and their two kids. It looked like a car accident, but Derek was certain it was staged. No one outside the vice department knew of their investigation, that's why he assumed there must be a mole, and contacted me for help."

Chloe nodded absent-mindedly, already knowing that piece of information. Derek had told her about his partner the first time they've met, but made her promise not to tell anyone. She tightened her grip around Lucifer's hand again, feeling a dull feeling in her stomach, and he gently pressed her further into his side, rubbing across her arm to soothe her. She looked up at him, seeing his warm smile, before he lowered his head, pecking her on the temple.

Unperturbed by their display of affection, Dan continued talking: "Chloe, these are really bad guys if they can make people and their entire family have accidents, just because they were after them. You said, you faked your death, because your informant told you sensitive information and you feared for your life. Derek told me, that you not only saved your own life with that, but ours, too. I need the information that informant gave you. I want to help Derek bring these people down, and we need to do that quickly. He said he has less than a week, until the last judge who was willing to help would close the case for good. So please, where is the information? Did he tell you about everything? Or did he actually hide it somewhere?" He looked at her, expectantly awaiting her response.

Chloe looked at him, worry filling her eyes. "He told me he had hidden evidence to bring these people down and also told me where to find them," she answered, lying to him with a straight face. "I need some time to get them, though."

Dan nodded his understanding. "The sooner you get them, the better. As soon as these guys are behind bars, we can reveal that you're still alive and get you back into our life," he commented, sending her a hopeful smile.

" _Our life_!" Lucifer mocked him. The tirade this man had let loose on Chloe this morning still resounded loudly and clearly through his head. He couldn't believe that just because of the prospect of sending someone behind bars, Dan suddenly cared for her again. He chuckled angrily, before he countered: "Do you mean to get her back to police work? Back into her old house? Act like nothing had happened?" He felt jealousy rising up from inside; a still very unpleasant feeling, even if he now understood its meaning. Dan could offer her something he would never be able to, and he feared that this would eventually make her leave him. Even if she couldn't physically, mentally distancing herself from him was still possible, and this was something he never wanted to experience. He knew she hated being that dependent on him, but truth to be told, he liked it that she was so close to him with her body and her mind; to know that he could open his eyes in the morning, knowing that she was near. He didn't want it any other way.

Dan's words brought a smile to Chloe's face. Since she came back to earth, this was the first time she felt something like hope to get her old life back; to be able to watch her daughter grow up. But she also heard the fear through Lucifer's lines. She looked at him, rubbing across his hand to get his attention, and reassured him with a smile and a quick kiss on his cheek that everything was alright between the two of them. She turned her head back to Dan, putting on a stern expression. She didn't like what she was about to say, but given the circumstances, she felt she had no other choice. "I'll give you the information under one condition."

"What is it?" Dan questioned, but already knew the answer himself.

"I want your word, your oath, that you won't take Trixie away from me. As soon as this is over, I want to be back on shared custody," she answered, determined. "And I want her every day until then for at least an hour," she added quickly, her voice as steady as before.

Dan lowered his head, appearing to be thinking about it, before he looked back up at her, nodding. "You have my word. I've seen Trixie's reaction to me trying to keep her away from you. I don't want her to get hurt, believe me."

Chloe let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "So, you'll bring her tomorrow after school again?"

"Yes," he assured. "But it would be wise if someone neutral would get her," he added. "I'm not sure if I already draw attention to someone, and bringing her over once again, to a club owner who used to work for the police, might be suspicious."

"I'll send someone for her," Lucifer assured them both.

Chloe smiled relieved, knowing that he would make sure Dan stuck to his promise. She turned around, calling loudly: "Trixie, babe, could you come to us please?"

The little girl rushed back to them, as if she already had waited for the call, jumping onto her mother's lap, holding tight onto one of her arms, the other clasped around Lucifer's, looking up.

"Your daddy will take you home now. But tomorrow after school you'll visit me again. OK, monkey?" Chloe explained with a soft voice, kissing her daughter on the forehead.

Trixie eyed her suspiciously, before she locked her eyes on her father, squinting them in mistrust again. "I don't want to go home with him," she replied, looking back up. She didn't want to risk not seeing her mum again for a third time.

An unwanted smile stretched Dan's lips, and he nodded, chuckling. She truly was her mother's child. "Look, Trixie. That stunt you pulled off two hours ago, it shook me up. I'm not risking your life again by trying to keep you away from her," he confirmed, pointing towards his ex.

Still, Trixie wasn't fully convinced as she eyed him warily again, asking lowly: "Promise?"

"Big promise!" he answered truthfully.

The little girl beamed with delight. She fell around her mother's neck and kissed her goodbye, before she leaned over and quickly gave the devil a peck on the cheek as well.

He stared at her, flabbergasted about the unfamiliar gesture, and watched her jumping off of Chloe and heading to her father.

Dan got up as well and took her by the hand as they both made their way to the elevator. The doors sprang open and Trixie turned around again, waving them goodbye before she stepped inside.

Chloe breathed a deep sigh of relief and let her head drop back against Lucifer's shoulder, finally feeling the tension washing off that was inside of her the whole time.

"Well, that was a surprise," he commented, nudging her onto the head with his nose, before he gave her a kiss on her hair. "Seems you finally have your ticket back home," he added, trying to suppress the sorrow he felt.

Chloe stared at him attentively, a light frown between her eyes. She gently grabbed his chin, moving his head to lock their eyes, as she replied: "I am home, Lucifer." She leaned forward, giving him a quick but tender kiss on the mouth.

He couldn't stop his lips from spreading into a wide grin, feeling relief washing over him. As he saw worry flashing up across her face, he tilted his head in confusion, asking: "What's all of a sudden?"

"There is a twist to the story," Chloe answered and sighed again. Seeing him looking at her curiously, she added: "I've never spoken to the informant."

The smile on Lucifer's face turned into a smug grin as he countered: "You're lucky you know the king of hell." His eyes sparkled at her, and Chloe couldn't suppress her own smile from spreading and a chuckle escaping her throat.

/-/

The ash rained down heavily onto them as they entered the gates of hell. ' _Lex is really making a good job out of it_ ,' Lucifer thought as they followed the path to his private chambers. Screams resounded through the air, coming from far away, and a part of him wanted to follow its music to their source, wanted to join into the sweet torture of sinners. But the other part of him, and this one seemed to grow the more time he spent with Chloe, wanted to flee from this place instantly. He felt her fear and put an arm around her, pulling her closer to him. His thumb drew little circles onto her upper arm, giving her a pleasant feeling in this otherwise awful place, and he sensed that his attempts of soothing succeeded.

Chloe leaned further into him, relishing the close contact that calmed her down, while they walked further. The outlines of his private chambers appeared in the distance, and she was profoundly glad that she would soon be away from these cylindrical stones that towered up from out of the ground, making their path look and feel like they were walking inside a huge labyrinth. The further they walked, the less stones were around them and soon they came across a wide, empty field. She remembered the field from the last time she was here. She sighed deeply as she got aware that it was only thanks to Lucifer's good-heartedness that she didn't have to live the rest of her life down here, getting covered in ash and hearing the screams of tortured souls. She didn't know how he had managed to live down here for millennia without getting insane himself. But then again, he wasn't human. Maybe time had no meaning for him like it had for her, she thought.

Maze walked behind them, eyeing their closeness with a jealous and an accepting eye. It wasn't long ago, when she was the only confident in his life, the one that was closest to him. But she also realised that all this time, all these millennia they've spent together, he'd never looked at her the way he looked at the detective. He went miles out of his way just to please that former human, to conjure a smile on her face. Things he'd never done for anyone else, including herself. She sighed heavily. Her master had changed so much since he'd met that woman, and the fact that he, literally, couldn't be away from her now only added the last drop to the glass. At least it didn't make her wanna puke anymore whenever she caught them cuddling, or worse, kissing.

They stopped in front of his private chambers and he released Chloe from out of his grip, needing both his hands to push open the huge wooden doors. They went inside, looking for the two current residents. Lucifer walked ahead, still knowing this place inside out. The rooms were lit by candle light that bathed the walls in a warm golden-brown. He had to do a double take as he realised the cold stone walls had given way to wood panels. It suited the rooms, made them appear more homely, and for a moment he wondered why he had never thought of it before. He closed his eyes, chuckling lowly about the thought, already knowing the answer: This had never been his home. He'd never cared about how it looked. He sensed a presence and followed it, letting it lead him into a corridor that was halfway lit with candles as well.

"Soldier boy!" Lucifer called the man he made out at the far end, not being able to resist the tease.

Ian stopped his work and looked up in surprise, quickly walking towards them. "What a pleasant visit," he greeted them friendly, welcoming Chloe with a warm hug, and the other two with a well respected nod. "To what do we owe the honour? Are you staying for good?" he questioned joyfully.

Lucifer shook his head, smirking at him. "It's just a quick visit. Where is Lex?"

"In the garden," he answered, and his smile turned into a full-teeth grin as he saw the perplexed faces of the others.

/-/

Ian stopped the group in front of the place, proudly presenting it: "Welcome to her garden."

It looked almost like the Garden of Eden, Lucifer thought. There was a big lake in the middle of it, with lots of green fields around them, surrounded by large trees to shield the view to the outside. There were some houses in the back and people sitting and playing around. Lex sat in front of the lake, she seemed in thoughts, but as Ian called her, she quickly stood up. Recognising the people, she wildly waved with her arm, rushing towards them.

"You're back!" she shouted out with joy, falling around Lucifer's waist and hugging him tight.

"Not for long," Lucifer replied, being as stiff as a poker at the sudden contact, his arms held up awkwardly.

Lex chuckled and quickly let go of her master; turning to Chloe, she also embraced her in a comforting real hug. "Still, it's good to see you. I've wanted to show you so badly what I did to this place here," she told them gleefully and a bit proud. She released the detective from out of her embrace and turned to Maze, who signalled her with her eyes to better keep her hands to herself. She smirked at her, simply waving her hand to say hello. "So, what do you say?"

"How is that even possible?" Lucifer questioned, stunned and irritated.

Lex shrugged with her shoulders. "Don't know, it all started with one simple tree, and then I added more and more things to that place. I thought this is something you can do as well," she assumed, expectantly looking up to her master.

He shook his head in disbelief. "I had no idea. What is this place for?"

"Well, you know, on my plate I see all the sins the souls did in their lives to get down here." She waited for him to nod, before she continued: "I disagreed with some of them. Taking your own life or having done nothing else than being gay, as well as choosing not to believe in this cocky guy up there," she pointed towards the sky, "didn't really count for me as a sin. So I created this here for those to be in."

Maze gazed at her, disgusted by what she saw. "You literally created a place that turned hell into... well... _hell_ ," she stated, appalled. At least this was how it appeared to her. It was something against the purpose of hell itself, something against her nature. The souls down here should be punished and suffering, instead they were playing and walking, enjoying their eternity, and she couldn't and didn't want to wrap her mind around it.

Lex chuckled at her choice of words, flashing her a smile before she turned her attention back to the towering devil. "Why are you here?"

"We're looking for someone," Lucifer summed it up.

"Alright! What's the name?" she questioned, staring at him in anticipation.

"I don't know the name," Chloe chimed in, providing all the information she had about the man. "On the day I died, I was supposed to meet an informant. I never got to know his name, only the location where I was supposed to meet him, and an identifying label. All I know is that he died two days after me, in Los Angeles."

"Okay," Lex raised an eyebrow in puzzlement. She lowly repeated the cues the detective had given her, while she searched in her head for fitting souls. "An informant from L.A. Well, there came quite a few souls during that year. Do you know what else he did, besides being your informant?"

Chloe shook her head. "I didn't know anything about him."

"Well, then I'd suggest we go to each one of them until we have your human," she replied, and took the lead.

/-/

They already had checked seventeen souls, without good results. None of them was the informant so far. Some had to be turned into demons to get them to answer, but they couldn't stay this way and Maze happily volunteered to make an end to their ordeal, using her demon-daggers to slit their throats and erase them from this place. It felt so good to finally use them again, and her mood lightened up with every soul that didn't want to talk right away.

Lex stepped up to candidate number eighteen, grabbing him out of his own hell and bringing him to Chloe.

She was glad that Lucifer had been at her side all the time, shielding her from the view of Maze doing her _thing_ with the poor souls. And with every additional soul, her pleas to have the right one this time increased. She sighed deeply before she said to the man in front of her: "The sun is shining, but I'm waiting for rain."

The man who up to now had stared into space focussed his eyes on her, his pupils getting wide, as he answered: "The rainbow will come, leading us to the gold on its other side." As quickly as his attention came it disappeared again, and he stared back into space.

Chloe's eyes widened in surprise, her lips stretched into a wide, relieved smile and she shouted out with joy: "This is him!"

"Finally!" Lex joined in the joy. She turned around to the man and breathed life into him.

At first, his attention came back, fixing his eyes on all the people around him, looking surprised and shocked. Then, the memories came back, and he broke down in screams and pain.

Chloe shrieked appalled, not being able to take her eyes off of the man who seemed to endure terrible torments. "What happens to him?" she questioned horrified, vaguely remembering the moment of her own conversion that seemed to have been a bed of roses compared to this one.

"Just a side effect of being alive again," Lucifer explained calmly and stepped in front of her. He wrapped his arms around her, guiding her several steps away and shielding her view from the screaming man, the urge to protect her blocking everything else out.

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 **A/N:** That's it for now. I hope you liked the chapter. My favourite part was the moment between Chloe and Lucifer after Dan and Trixie had left, what was yours? Please leave a comment below. :D

Have a nice day!

:o)


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N:** Dear readers. Finally, here is chapter 19. Sorry, that it took me so long. RL kept me quite busy. And it's another one of those touchy-feely-chapters, the next one's getting more into suspense :D. Apparently I forgot how to properly count, since I've told you twice in the ANs of the last chapters that there will be only two chapters left. Well 21-18 is not 2 so be assured that there will come two more after this one here ;)

I now have a **beta-read** er. Practically my very own **Daemon** to look over the chapter. So thank you very much for that. You're awesome! All remaining mistakes are mine, though. If you find one, feel free to tell ;)

Enjoy!

* * *

Lex stepped out of the room the screaming informant had been placed in, walking towards the others while Ian closed the door firmly shut. The heavy wood it was made of instantly muffled the sounds that came from within. "Let's just wait till he has calmed down before you start your interrogation," she suggested nonchalantly, and led them through the corridor. "Does anyone want some tea?"

Chloe walked beside her, eyeing her worriedly. "How long will it take until he has calmed down?"

The young woman shrugged with her shoulders and turned her head to face her as she answered: "Normally a couple of hours, days at most. It's pretty rare for one of them needing years to come around. So, you should be safe." She smiled reassuringly at her, before she turned her eyes back ahead, guiding them into the common room.

Chloe stared at her, flabbergasted, as she stopped inside the large room, lowly repeating some of her words in disbelief: "Days or years? We don't have time to wait that long, we barely have a couple of hours before we need to be back on earth." Straightening it out, she corrected quickly: "Before _I_ need to be back on earth."

Ian chuckled from behind and stepped next to Lex, turning himself to the detective and assuring her calmly: "Don't worry, time passes differently down here than up there."

"You could stay two weeks and not even an hour would have passed on earth," Lex added, sending her a bright, affirming smile.

"Well, it depends on the person, actually," Lucifer clarified with a bright smile on his own lips. He was directly behind Chloe, but took a step aside and gazed down at her as he explained: "Some feel a year passing by when it's actually only a second on earth. This is saved for the really bad guys." He winked, continuing: "But normally it's like a one-day-to-one-year-ratio."

"How is that possible?" Chloe questioned with a bewildered look on her face, staring alternately between him and the couple, before her eyes eventually rested on the devil. She still needed some time to come around on that part.

He slightly tilted his head at her, raising one eyebrow and countering in a cocky tone: "Ask my dad about that. Guess he really wanted me to feel like eternity when he condemned me down here."

"So it's not just a feeling I had? I really was down here for 3 months?" she questioned, turning her attention to the woman in front of her. At least she was finally able to bring light onto that piece of darkness.

Lex shook her head, smiling warmly as she set it right: "Chloe, you've been down here for three years, not months."

"But it only felt like months," she replied lowly, talking more to herself than addressing the others in the room. An even more bewildered look now settled down on her face.

"That's because I erased your memory," Lex explained cheerfully, feeling a bit proud of that power of hers. "I came to you every day since your arrival and made sure you wouldn't remember much about hell until Lucifer finally arrived to take you back."

"Speaking of," Lucifer tossed in, stepping closer to Chloe while his attention turned to his second in command, looking at her with interested eyes. "Why are you able to do all that? Erasing memory, creating new surroundings," he listed. These things were something completely new to him. When she had first told him of the former, he'd quickly dismissed it, having had his full attention on Chloe and only her, but now his astonishment about Lex being able to do something he wasn't capable of, fuelled his curiosity.

Lex raised an eyebrow at him, perplexed. Out of all the people to ask her that, she'd never expected it to be her master. "Why do you ask me?" she questioned, her voice slightly raised in puzzlement. "You created me! You should know what I'm capable of."

"Maybe it's because of that heart-exchange thing," Maze tossed in, sitting up from the table she was lying on. Herr voice was deep and calm, disclosing the boredom that was spread out inside of her. "Didn't you know what this would do to her?" she questioned the devil.

"How the hell should I?" Lucifer retorted quickly, staring at his demon and defending himself: "I've never done this before."

"Wow, wait!" Ian interrupted them, questioning dumbfounded: "What heart-exchange thing?" He turned towards Lex, staring at her with a raised eyebrow, awaiting answers. It was the first time he'd heard of that fact, and being used to them having a completely honest relationship, he felt slightly upset that she apparently kept something secret from him.

"Well, after he turned me into a demon," Lex started slowly, feeling uneasy at the stern expression he sent her. During all the time they've spent together, she could count the number of times he'd been angry at her on the fingers of one hand. And she knew, right now, she was in trouble. Taking a deep breath, she explained to him calmly: "To rule hell and to turn you into a demon, I needed a bit of his powers. So, he opened my chest, and exchanged a piece of our hearts." She saw the wrath well up in his eyes, and instinctively raised her shoulders to protect her neck, a remnant of the upbringing she'd gone through as a child. With her voice low and slightly shaking, she added: "Didn't I tell you?"

"No! You left that part out," he answered with a growl, clenching his fists to channel his anger, before he inhaled deeply, trying to compose himself. He knew frightening her would only end in her closing up and backing off, and they needed to talk, but the anger about the truth being kept from him and, therewith, the insight that he had failed to protect her, once again, despite the promise he'd given her when they'd met, brought his blood to boil.

Lucifer sensed that the soldier demon could barely hold back his anger, and he felt a strange need to step between him and his second in command, shielding her from the possible danger. He strode forward, pushing her slightly away from Ian in the process, and called him to order: "Stop being so overdramatic about that little insignificance." He almost rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Insignificance?" Ian repeated, his voice dripping with rage as he addressed the devil. "Opening her chest and holding her heart in your hands is not insignificant!" he yelled at him, turning his attention back to his girlfriend, he asked her with a more controlled tone: "Did you give him your consent to touch you?"

She swallowed the little lump that had formed in her throat, not knowing what to say. Yes! She did agree to Lucifer making her his second in command. However, the problem was, that she still would have to answer his question with a 'no'; a word, she already knew would only cause misconception and therefore didn't want to say it out loud. She loved Ian, and she would always defend him till the end of time, but she also felt loyal towards Lucifer and didn't want to betray him. Trying to conduce both sides, she answered with a voice almost a whisper: "I did it for you."

Ian knew her inside out, and could almost read her as good as she was able to read people's faces. He knew what her true answer would have been and the anger about Lucifer doing something without her permission or, worse, against her will probably, seethed him with rage.

Hearing her discomfort, Lucifer intervened. "She didn't need to give her _consent_ ," he explained calmly, using the same word. "She's my demon. I can do with her whatever I want," he added, letting a hinge of warning sound with his voice.

"No you cannot!" Ian spat back. " _You_ have no right to touch _my_ girlfriend," he countered, channelling his whole anger to the devil now.

"Excuse me?" Lex tossed in, baffled, addressing her boyfriend who ignored her completely. When had his concern for her wellbeing suddenly turned into a form of turf war? She wasn't his property, and that his words sounded exactly like that really upset her.

"It was a necessary thing to give her a bit of my power," Lucifer replied matter of factly. His whole body was tense and he attentively watched his opponent's every move, ready to defend himself, and the woman behind him, at any time.

"Holding her heart in your hands?" Ian countered mockingly.

"I just ripped a piece off!" Lucifer retorted, raising his voice in anger. It vexed him that this young man was so stubborn and made a fuss out of nothing. And, that he somehow had found himself on the receiving end of his anger. What happened to his ' _when two people quarrel, don't meddle_ '?

Ian looked daggers at the devil, but as he briefly glanced over at Lex, seeing her standing further afar now with hurt and anger flashing up in her eyes, he came quickly back to his senses. He wanted to go to her, wrap her up in a hug and tell her that everything was fine, but as he took a step forward, Lucifer quickly blocked his way and pushed him back.

"Step away from her!" Ian warned him, the anger about the devil's interference instantly came back, poked by the taller man's provocative move.

"I certainly do not! You're scaring her," Lucifer retorted, going several steps towards him and with that, pushing him further away from his second and Chloe, who were still at risk of getting hurt in case the other man lost his temper.

The insecurity he felt at Lex's apparent refusal to side with him stirred up his jealousy and added only more fuel to his already seething rage. His eyes darkened as he glared at his opponent, warning him in a growling tone: "Don't you dare and come between me and my girlfriend! She's out of your league, so back down!" He yelled the last two words.

"What the," Lex tossed in, stunned about Ian's words and his outburst that was in her opinion way over reacted. Once again her protest got completely ignored by her boyfriend, who approached the devil even closer. She narrowed her eyes in anger and raised her hands in resignation, turning around and walking to Maze and Chloe. If he really needed a fight with the devil, then fine, she would talk later to him, when he was back with his senses.

"Don't forget who you are talking to!" Lucifer warned him, his eyes flashing fire, and he decreased the distance to him even more, their chests almost touching now.

"I know damn well who I'm talking to!" Ian countered, staring back at him with equally dark eyes, completely unimpressed that he was throwing threats at no one less than the devil himself.

"Really?" Maze tossed in annoyed, rolling her eyes. After sensing the testosterone of the man, rising in anger, she had awaited a quick fight and was excited about that little distraction. But them just standing there staring at each other, making nothing but verbal threats, gave her a sense of disappointment.

"Guys! Could you please calm down and concentrate on the task ahead?" Chloe chimed in, trying to call both to reason. She'd hoped that at least Lucifer would instantly turn around and listen to her, but to no avail, she got completely ignored as well. She knew that his sudden concern for Lex had nothing to do with her, or his feelings for her, so she quickly suppressed the astonishment about his behaviour, locking it away deeply inside her heart. Still, it upset her that they somehow felt the need to play some sort of 'whose is bigger' over the current ruler of hell.

"Men!" Lex commented, miffed. Knowing that they could do nothing against this alpha-male-demeanour, she changed the topic to something more delightful, asking the women: "Wanna come see my new torture chamber?"

Maze's eyes flashed up in anticipation and she quickly hopped off the table. "I'm in!"

Chloe hesitated, looking at her concerned and replying with a hushed, but worried tone: "Shouldn't you prevent your boyfriend from getting... well, whatever Lucifer is capable of doing to him?"

Lex shook her head decisively. "Nope!" She popped the 'p', explaining to her: "They both are big boys. Lucifer won't kill him, and anything else he can take." Shrugging her arms, she added under her breath: "Plus, I think he somehow needs this I'm-the-man-I-can-defend-your-honour-thing from time to time." She walked ahead, leading both women out of the room.

They were almost gone as they heard Lucifer's deep, dark voice calling after them. "Where are you going?" he questioned, his eyes still fixed on the opponent in front of him.

Lex and Maze stared at each other, before turning back to him and answering in unison: "Doing some girl's stuff." With that they left the room, dragging Chloe along.

Being finally assured that no one else could get hurt in case it really came to a fight, Lucifer let some of his self-control easing off. "You're making a fuss out of nothing," he scolded him warningly with a raised voice.

"You opening her chest and removing a piece of her heart isn't nothing!" Ian bawled angrily, walking back and forth to channel his anger into some movements.

"Calm down! It's not like I had sex with her," Lucifer yelled back, trying for a last time to call him to reason, but all he received was an angry glare from the demon.

"Really? Maybe, I'll just go to Chloe then and open her chest as well." Ian countered provokingly, noticing with satisfaction that he'd hit directly on the other's weak spot.

"Dare to lay one finger on her and I'll rip you to pieces!" Lucifer growled lowly, his human skin vanished, revealing the dark red skin and the deep scars as the anger about this stubborn soldier took the better of him.

Ian wasn't intimidated in the slightest about the other one's appearance. He glared back, an angry smile on his lips, as he retorted: "Is that so?" Finally he could give him a piece of his own medicine; make him realise how it feels to be unable to protect your loved ones. "I think it would just be fair to leave a part of me inside of her as well!" he provoked him further.

Lucifer roared and grabbed him by his neck, throwing him through the room with all force that was in him. Ian landed against the wall, crushing the wooden panels behind his back. The air was pushed out of his lungs from the impact and he fell limply to the ground. Coming around, he shook his head and quickly stood up again, rushing to the devil and knocking him down with a loud angry bawl.

"How would you feel, when you suddenly hear that the woman you love had been touched by another man!" Ian screamed at him, throwing his fist against the other man's jaw.

Lucifer easily dodged the blow and grabbed him again, turning them both over and smashing his head into the floor to make him stop. "Stop it, soldier boy!" he yelled at him.

"I am not a boy!" Ian yelled back. "I will protect her from you. You can't have her!" he suddenly blurted out, voicing his deepest fear.

Lucifer stared at him, flabbergasted at the allegation. "I don't want her!" he shouted out, aghast. Composing himself, his face shifted back and his fire red eyes turned back to their dark-brown colour. "You frantically jealous fool," he countered calmly, letting go of him and standing up. "I would never take her away from you."

"How shall I know that?" he questioned, his voice giving away the insecurity he felt. He sat up, running his fingers through his hair and locking his eyes to the ground, feeling very uneasy as he realised the real cause of his jealousy. "She carries a part of you inside of her," he recalled lowly, taking a deep breath before he continued: "This is more intimate than sex could ever be. This is a connection no one else can break down. How do I know that not someday she decides to chose you over me?"

"Foolish little demon. You're still too human to understand this. Chloe is all I want. No one else," Lucifer declared, bringing his clothes back into order. "The only unbreakable connection you're talking about is between me and her. With Lex it was just an exchange of flesh, on a pure business level," he explained, adding after a quick thinking: "Yes, she has a bit of me and my powers, but I could kill her any time and wouldn't feel sorry for her."

Ian huffed mockingly, glaring angrily up at him.

"Alright!" the devil admitted, his voice completely calm. "I would feel sorry for her, if I had to kill her. I really like that girl. But that's all I see in her. A girl. A... a-," he halted as he rummaged in his head for a more suitable word. Recalling his unfamiliar feelings from before, he suddenly realised that they were similar to those Chloe felt whenever she was around her child; some sort of caring and protecting. With a voice almost a whisper and filled with incredulity about himself, he stated: "a spawn." Looking down to the other one and seeing his perplexed expression, he quickly added: "at most! Besides you should know how she feels towards you!" He quickly changed the attention to the other one, pushing the strange emotions that had flared up inside of him, back to where they came from. "That girl came down to hell for you. She made a deal with the devil, me, myself, to get to you and stay _with you_ for all eternity. So how can you have any doubt in her unconditional loyalty towards you?" He halted, sighing deeply as he rose his voice again: "I on my side don't have that warrant," he ended, and the realisation made him aware how lucky that guy was, and how envious he felt towards him.

"Unconditional loyalty?" Ian chuckled lowly at the unfamiliar use of words. "You mean love?" he clarified, standing up from the ground and taking place on a nearby chair, rubbing the spot on the back of his head that was currently hurting like hell.

"So to speak," Lucifer agreed lowly, still not comfortable with taking that word into his mouth himself.

"I know you love Chloe," Ian replied, sending him a sympathetic smile. "You went back to hell for her. And she is still with you. So, she must love you just as much."

"She has no choice," he replied, his voice was so low that Ian had almost missed the words at all.

"What do you mean with that?" he questioned concerned.

Lucifer suspired in sadness, unwillingly recalling the memories. "She feels pain when she is too far away from me. And I can feel her pain, and some kind of pleasure as well. I always feel her presence around me, since I turned her. She literally can't stay away from me. So how should I know that she really, truly wants to be with me." He sighed again, trying to stiffen the dull feeling that had started to spread around in his body coming from the place his heart was. "You have no idea how lucky you are," he added sighing again.

Ian chuckled, sadness in his tone. "Guess you can only be death certain, when the other person is literally giving their life up for you, huh."

Lucifer nodded with a heavy heart in his chest.

/-/

"Oh my god! What is this?" Chloe asked appalled as they entered the large chamber.

Lex chuckled. "God has nothing to do with this. This is my very own torture room, for rapists and child murderers," she proudly presented to them, raising her arm in an inviting gesture. "Here they get _parked_ , when I don't have time to make them understand how if feels to get violently penetrated by someone, or _something_ in this regard," she added with a wink.

Maze eyes sparkled with delight as she watched the men, and some women, hung up by their four limbs in the air on chains, getting impaled through their behind by a lance, that was shoving itself at equal intervals higher and higher, until the blood covered peaks emerges through their mouths or skulls. Their agonising screams were like music to her ear, only breaking off in the moment of them dying, until the lance was withdrawn again and they're coming back to life, getting impaled anew.

Chloe turned around, quickly covering her eyes in disgust. Yes, she was aware that these were bad people, and that Lex was a torturer and liked what she did, Maze apparently as well, but still she couldn't get her head around watching these people – souls – getting tortured, and feel pleasure. For her it was nauseatic, hearing their screams, smelling the air that was filled with iron from the blood. She could almost taste it on her lips.

Lex eyed her sceptically and then turned her head to the oldest demon in the room. "Have some fun with them. There are other weapons over there," she explained, pointing towards that direction. "I think I'll take Chloe for a walk outside."

Maze nodded, smiling in anticipation, cracking her knuckles and getting to work.

Lex led Chloe back outside, walking some distance away from the chamber until the screams were barely recognisable, before she turned her head to her, asking in genuine concern: "You alright?"

Chloe nodded absent-mindedly, taking several breaths to compose herself. "It's just... I couldn't do it, you know." She looked up to the young woman.

"You'll get used to it," Lex assured her warmly.

"No!" She shook her head, determined that she would never feel that way. "I punished people by sending them to jail. I could never actively hurt them."

"That's OK. Ian doesn't really like torturing them as well," she replied, leading her to the place she knew, the detective would feel certainly better.

They walked in silence for some time until the garden appeared in front of their eyes. Lex guided her to the place at the lake she had been sitting on upon their arrival and sat down.

Chloe took place next to her, watching her staring at the constant movement of the water until she spoke up, interrupting the silence: "Ian really loves you."

Lex looked at her, a shy smile stretching her lips as she nodded. "Right from the start he felt really fond of me," she commented lowly. Gazing towards the detective and seeing her curious face, she continued talking: "I met him during the program for juvenile offenders. He was there teaching us parkour and self-defence. I backed down from everyone, didn't want to get touched or people to even come near me."

"Because of what happened to you during your early childhood?" Chloe interposed carefully, she didn't want to bring back bad memories and was relieved as she saw the other woman not shirking away from her.

Lex nodded, continuing: "I expected him to yell at me for not obeying, but instead he told me, that he will make sure no one else will come close to me. He'd promised to protect me." Taking a peek at the detective, she quickly explained: "He didn't know what had happened to me, and he told me he wouldn't read my file or ask the guardians. He wanted to wait for me, until I was ready to tell him myself."

Hearing that, Chloe smiled, her heart filling with warmth. "Did you trust him on that?"

"Hell no!" Lex countered, shaking her head. A low chuckle escaped her throat and she added: "I didn't believe one single word he'd said. I knew better! But he kept his promise. No one came near me, and he was the only one who did the exercises with me when it came to one-on-one combat. I still backed away from him whenever he came too close and one day after the training, he gave me his marines knife. He wasn't allowed to give it to anyone, especially not to me, but still he did. He told me that I can give it back to him when I trust him."

The detective looked up, impressed that the soldier trusted her enough to know she wouldn't suddenly use it against him, or hurt anyone else. "How long did it take until you gave him his knife back?"

"A year." Lex eyed her, a wide smirk on her lips as she admitted: "I already felt safe around him after a couple of months and trusted him shortly afterwards. But it was a Force Recon Commander Knife! The one with a saw on one side. It felt so awesome in my hand and I couldn't quite part with it."

Chloe chuckled at her confession, still remembering her own feelings when she held her first gun in her hands; the power this little weapon emitted. Already knowing the end of their earthly life, she questioned further: "Where you angry at him when he went for duty?"

She nodded vigorously. "He'd told me directly when he received the foreign mission letter. I was so upset about them taking him away from me, and him doing his duty, that I didn't speak to him for over a week. I couldn't. There were so many feelings inside of me and I didn't want them to come out. I thought they would make me seem weak, and I hate being weak."

"You're not weak when you show that you care, Lex," Chloe stated, shaking her head to underline that emotions were a strength, not a fault.

"That's what he said," she replied, the grin back on her face. "He waited until I had calmed down. It was still a couple of months until he would really leave and during that time, he made sure that I was taken care of. That I had everything I need. Well, almost everything," she added staring to the ground. The smile on her face disappeared as she thought back to the moment when he'd said his final goodbye; when he'd taken her into his arms, hugging her tight, and promised her to come back, and when she'd clung her arms around him, not willing to let go, knowing that he was and would be the only thing she needed at all.

Chloe nodded knowingly. She stared back at the lake, watching its little waves washing up and down, wetting the sand in front of their feet.

"He really felt guilty for leaving me behind," Lex stated lowly, interrupting the new silence that had fallen onto them. "And he still feels guilty; for not being able to protect me, for dying, for me going to hell." She halted, sighing, before she turned her head to the woman next to her. "I could tell him a million times that it was my own decision of what I did on earth to come down here, that I wanted to be with him, he'd still think it was all his fault."

"Do _you_ think it's his fault?" Chloe wanted to know, gazing at her with curious eyes.

"No!" She shook her head, decisively. She turned her gaze back to the water, taking a deep silent breath, thinking it through. "He was a soldier. It was his duty to leave. I know, that when Ian died, I stopped living as well. I had just this one thought that drove me forward: getting to him. But now that I'm back with him again, it's like we've never been apart from each other in the first place."

"But you're dead," Chloe stated matter of factly. "Don't you miss life sometimes?"

"What should I miss about that?" Lex looked at her, her bright eyes made clear that she meant every word she said. "Ian is my life. He is my home. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Yes," Chloe nodded. This, she had realised just recently as well. It's not the place you call home, it's the people. ' _The people. Lucifer_ ,' she thought and the feeling she'd locked deep inside of her heart came back, spreading around in her body. She shifted her position, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable that the surprise of seeing him defending someone else, also stirred up a little jealousy. She swallowed the lump that started to form in her throat and coughed slightly, fixing her eyes on the ground as she asked, a light pink accentuating her cheeks at the discomfort this thought caused: "Do you feel drawn to him?"

Lex looked at her, warily. Since they've just talked about her and Ian, and how much they loved each other, the detective's question, and the uneasiness she radiated about it with her whole body language, could mean only one thing she'd actually wanted to say; or to be more precisely: only one person. The smirk on her face stretched her lips to a full knowing smile. "No! I don't feel any romantic feelings towards Lucifer." She suppressed the chuckle that was about to leave her throat, as she saw Chloe getting even more uncomfortable. "Why do you think that?"

"It's nothing, really," Chloe quickly shrugged it off, pretending to watch the trees to the left of them, to hide the blush that coloured her cheeks in a more obvious red.

Being a walking lie-detector herself, Lex knew that her words couldn't be further away from the truth. She gave her a little time to answer, but as the detective remained silent, she spoke up, a mischievous smile on her face: "Chloe, I still remember you two vividly bantering with each other in that car, the glances you've given each other when you thought the other one wasn't looking, and the sheer panic on his face when he thought you'd fall down the stairs the day you were chasing after me. I already knew you were special to him, it was written all over his face, and from the looks on your face whenever he is touching you, I'm pretty sure that he is special to you, too. And since you came back, you two seem closer than it could get anymore," she recalled, letting the subtle implication swing in her tone. "So, what are you afraid of?" she asked, knowing there must be something, Chloe wouldn't have stated that question otherwise.

The blush on her cheeks increased to a definite red and once again, Chloe was suddenly very interested in a spot on the ground. She sighed deeply, before she finally spoke up: "I can't be away from him. Literally," she admitted truthfully. "It feels like dying when I'm too far away and it hurts extremely. He can feel my pain, and I think he can also feel all the other feelings I have, the pleasurable ones, because the first time we kissed," she halted, taking another deep breath to sort her thoughts. "I think I overwhelmed him with them."

The mischievous smile turned into a Cheshire cat grin as Lex heard her confession. She gazes at her, but narrowed her eyes in worry as she recognised the frown on Chloe's face. "What is it that you're thinking about?"

Chloe shook her head, not quite knowing how to say it. "We had a talk with his therapist, where he kinda confessed that he made me because he couldn't live without me. And that, somehow, this made me unable to leave him, and him to feel whatever I feel. But this all was after he exchanged that piece of heart with you. Do you get what I mean?"

"No!" Lex answered, one eyebrow raised. She somehow suspected what she was imploring at, but decided it was best for the detective to state those sentences on her own.

Chloe sighed again, sorting in her head the words until they made sense, before she voiced them: "I think he only feels so strongly about me, because he carries a piece of a human heart inside his chest. That it's not actually him who has these feelings, but the part that belongs to you."

Lex narrowed her eyes at her, sceptically gazing her up and down, and waited for her to say something more. When nothing came, she countered sarcastically. "Yeah! Because I am so full of emotions that this little piece overpowered his whole being and he couldn't help but fall in love with you."

Chloe shook her head at her mocking words. "You are very sensitive, Lex. I know that. You just don't show it. You're actually pretty much like him. You two have trouble admitting your emotions, and rather hide behind a stern face, but you care deeply. You want to punish the evil and seek justice for the victims and I know that deep down in your heart you truly care. You went to hell to be with Ian, because you love him so much, and Lucifer, well, Lucifer," she halted, not knowing what to say.

"Went to hell to get to you, too," Lex ended her sentence.

"But he went to hell before; for you, remember?" Chloe looked up into her eyes, revealing to her the sorrow she felt at that thought.

Lex shook her head, vehemently. "That was different. We made a deal. The devil never backs out of a deal, he had no other choice. But for you, he would do anything," she assured her, being death certain.

"No, he wouldn't," Chloe contradicted, earning a bewildered stare from the young woman next to her. She felt a little uncomfortable to talk about this with someone who had just recently outgrown childhood, but considering the circumstance that they both were dead, demons, and the other knew exactly who she was talking about, she decided it was better than nothing. She took a deep breath, pushing that little age-fact to the back of her head, and started: "Well, this one time we were laying on his couch, cuddling, and I wanted more and he wanted more, and we started to kiss, really deeply, he suddenly sprang up and shirked away from me as if I'd just hit him," she summoned it up, adding: "I mean, normally he wouldn't ask twice to jump a woman, but with me," she trailed off. "The first time I went to him, drunk, intending on sleeping with him, he denied, and then on that couch, I knew he wanted it, and I was lying beneath him, willing and practically telling him to have a go, but he jumped up. I didn't know what happened to him, he looked so lost and hurt, and I didn't know why." She shook her head again, feeling the beginning of desperation about this deadlock situation.

Lex took a deep breath, processing the things she'd just heard. She wasn't good at socialising and being there for others. It always gave her a lot of headaches whenever she had to talk about feelings with someone else, but she liked Chloe, a lot, and she liked Lucifer. They were somehow her family now and she wanted to help them as best as she could. "Did you want to have sex with him?" she questioned, not completely sure on that part.

"Yes!" Chloe admitted, but quickly changed her words: "No! I mean," she halted, feeling herself at a complete loss. "I don't know. I-," she stopped again, sorting her thoughts about what she actually wanted to say, and then continued: "I guess, I just thought I'll let him do whatever he wants and interfere in case I change my mind." She gazed at her companion, seeing her staring back with two big, blank eyes.

"Sorry, Chloe, but you're giving me headaches," Lex admitted. "I mean, I can read people's faces. I've learned this since I was little, to know if someone was a threat towards me or not. I basically know what they are feeling and that is quite close to what they are thinking. People are really easy on that part. But you, I have no idea what you actually want from him. You just told me that he can feel your feelings, so how is he supposed to react properly towards you when you constantly send him mixed signals?"

"You mean _I_ made him jump up and shirk away from me?" She questioned, completely perplexed. Never before she had thought that she could have such a power over him. It always seemed to her, that the devil would do, whatever he wanted to do.

"Well, recall the kiss, what did you feel?" Lex enquired curiously.

"It felt nice. Awesome, actually," Chloe answered, smiling involuntarily as she thought back at it. "I was so aroused by that simple kiss of his and I also felt his arousal. It was like our bodies melted into each other. And when his tongue entered my mouth, and I felt him inside of me, I wanted this feeling to be everywhere. It was so ecstatic. He pressed himself further into me and I knew he wanted more. I wanted more as well, but suddenly I thought back at the moment down in hell when he'd told me that my body was obeying to his word and I felt that fear again. What if I didn't want to go further, but he wouldn't stop? A part of me got scared, and that was the moment he'd jumped up," she ended, seeing completely sense now.

"Guess you've given him some big blue balls back then," Lex joked and chuckled.

Chloe stared at her, eyes narrowed, silently telling her that this wasn't funny at all.

"Sorry," she apologised, stifling the chuckle. "Well, I know that he wouldn't do anything against your will." Seeing her puzzled face, she elucidated: "I was there when he'd told you, remember?" Chloe nodded, and Lex assured her with a warm smile, always thinking at the positive side of things: "At least you know now, that you can make him stop at any time you like."

"But what if I don't want him to stop?" she objected. "He got so scared, that he hadn't tried kissing me even once since it happened; and we do sleep in one bed at night," she pointed that out. "It was always me who took the initiative and pecked him on his lips, but I don't want to only kiss him. I want-," she halted, nodding twice to make clear what she'd meant.

"Well," Lex took a deep breath, smiling lightly as she made herself ready for the private details she was about to tell her. "When I moved in with Ian, I was legally an adult, meaning I could have sex with him without him getting in trouble, but still he denied. He said that I was too young and he wanted to wait until I was 18. I disagreed with him on that part and started to tease him a little. You know, the usual stuff: going from the bathroom to the bedroom completely naked, stepping into the tub when he was already inside, cuddling with him and wearing nothing but a shirt, making some insinuations whenever possible, always wanting to touch his bare skin, you get what I mean?"

Chloe nodded but remained silent to listen to her further.

"I was practically naked around him all the time, appealing to his carnal desires," she elucidated. "I knew he was affected by that. He wanted to have sex with me as much as I did. Even more, but still he held himself back, sticking to his words."

"So, you suggest what?" Chloe questioned, still not getting that point. After all Lex's approaches didn't end in the desired effect.

Lex stared at her with a raised eyebrow. "Tease him. Provoke him. Make him aware that you _want_ him. Understood? If he really wants to have sex with you, he will jump on that ship as soon as you let him." She winked at her, grinning widely, as she saw her nodding again, and Chloe couldn't help but grinning back.

Their private talk was suddenly interrupted by two figures quickly coming closer, and one shouting loudly the detective's name. They instantly stood up, walking to meet them half way.

"We were looking for you, everywhere!" Lucifer exclaimed, rushing forward and embracing Chloe in a big hug, pressing her tightly against his own body to soothe his own worried heart.

"I'm fine," she assured him, wrapping her arms around him and relishing the warmth that rose between them.

"How could you go so far away? Didn't you feel any pain?" he questioned, gazing her up and down. His hands on her cheeks, he brushed with his thumbs across her smooth skin, caressing it while he stared deeply into her eyes, looking for any hint of ache.

Chloe only shook her head, smiling warmly at him.

"Don't worry, she was with me all the time," Lex spoke up, smirking at him.

Lucifer eyed his little devil-demon-mix, frowning with concern at her and hugging Chloe tighter to him as if he wanted to protect her from an invisible threat. "Yes, with you," he commented warily, his thoughts running a mile an hour to process the innocent words she'd said.

"Is he ready to talk?" Lex quickly changed the topic.

"Yes," Ian confirmed, staring at her. He smiled warmly and was relieved as he saw her smiling back. Taking her into his arm, he hugged her tight, kissing her on the head and lowering his face to her ear, whispering softly: "You and me also need to talk, later."

She nodded at him. Her smile increased and she hugged him tighter, before letting go and taking his hand. She looked at Chloe, smiling at her once more, still feeling special that it was her the detective had opened up to, before she stepped ahead and led the group back to the informant.

* * *

 **A/N:** I hope you had fun reading the chapter, and enjoyed its length. Please leave a comment below and let me know :D

Have a nice day!

:o)


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:** Hello my dear readers. Welcome to the second last chapter. It was originally over 8000 words long but me and my Daemon decided to cut it in the middle and let the rest _flow into_ the last chapter so this one will become the long one; as a final act so to speake :D

This chapter is **beta-read** by Daemon. Thank you so much for that. You're awesome! All remaining mistakes are my own :D

Thank you so much for all your lovely reviews so far. Also those I couldn't thank personally :D You all are amazing. (I also mean you who put it on favourite or story alert or simply read it :D )

Enjoy!

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Chloe entered the room and spotted the informant, cowering next to a huge wardrobe. He'd tried to make himself as small as possible in hope of remaining undetected by the strange people who had brought him here. Slowly she approached him, stopping at a safety distance to not startle him unnecessarily, and squatted down, assuring him warmly: "No one will hurt you, don't worry."

The informant was still shaking, partially with cold and partially with fear, as he looked up, getting a face to the beholder of the voice. Her friendly smile calmed him slightly and he took a deep breath, asking her after he exhaled: "Who are you? Where am I?" His tone was low and slightly trembling, but he held her gaze before he took a brief look around the room and then locked his eyes back on the woman in front of him.

Chloe considered whether she still had her job title now that she was a demon or not, but then concluded that this was a detail he didn't need to know now. "I'm Detective Chloe Decker," she introduced herself, holding her hand out to him, adding: "I was supposed to meet you back then, in the alley."

Absent-mindedly he took her hand, shaking it and replying: "I'm Jonathan Wright. Call me Nate."

"Hello Nate, nice to meet you," she responded and smiled as the ice seemed to be broken.

"I...," he started, but then halted, once again looking around the room and this time getting aware of his surroundings: There was a bed in a corner, a large table with four chairs in the middle, and a tall man wearing a suit next to the door, leaning against the wall and watching them. He fixed his eyes back on the detective, still not understanding what had happened. He remembered tripping and falling down the stairs. No, not tripping, someone had pushed against his back. And he remembered hearing the sound of a neck breaking; his neck. But then again, he was alive, wasn't he? He looked down at his fingers, then grabbed his chin, feeling his skin. He definitely was alive. "Where am I?" he repeated, staring at Chloe.

"In hell," she answered frankly, smiling sympathetically as she watched him attentively.

Nate's eyes grew big, staring at her quizzically, before he snickered in disbelief. "Well, that's the place I should be after all I've done, but I don't feel like being dead," he contradicted. Whatever death must feel like, he was sure it would be anything but how he felt right now. He was cold, and his stomach was grumbling as if he hadn't eaten in weeks.

Lucifer chuckled amused at the man's denial. Humans always tried to rationalise it when they arrived in hell, before reality hit them; and if it was in the form of Maze, reality would hit very hard. He cocked his head lightly, a smug smile accentuating his lips, as he explained: "Well, technically you're a demon now. We had to turn you for you to talk to us."

Chloe gazed back at him, frowning at his interference. She knew he only wanted to help, but that most often backfired, and she couldn't risk it with their informant now. "Lucifer, thanks, but I got this, don't worry," she told him, unaware that it was her who almost burst the interrogation with her words. She turned her attention back to the informant and recognised that his face had gone ashen-pale.

"Lucifer?" he stammered, staring wide-eyed between her and the man. "As in: the devil?" His voice rose several octaves during the question.

"In all my glory," Lucifer answered delightedly, straightening himself and approaching them to flash the newest demon a bright cheeky smile.

Nate instantly backed away, pressed his back against the wall and dug his head in fear. "Are you going to punish me?" he questioned barely above a whisper.

"Not as long as you answer Chloe's questions," he assured him casually.

Chloe turned her head back to him, one eyebrow raised. "Lucifer!" she rebuked him, using only her voice and the look that told him: ' _not helping!_ '

He grinned at her, suppressing a chuckle and raising his hands in teasing surrender. He stepped back to the table, sat down on a chair and left the field to her.

She voiced a low 'thanks' in his direction before she, once again, turned her attention back to Nate. "Lucifer won't hurt you. We're only here to get the information you wanted to pass on to Derek," she explained, waiting for him to process the words. As she saw him slowly nodding his understanding, she suggested friendly: "Would you come over to the table, so we can sit down and talk properly?"

"Yes," he replied weakly, and let her help him stand up.

He sat down, opposite to them, eyeing the cup of tea that stood in front of him and the little billows of steam that rose from the liquid, signalling that it was still hot. He clasped his hands around the porcelain, feeling the heat through the material and quickly took a sip. The hot tea instantly burned his lips and he hissed in pain, but then chuckled relieved. Pain meant he could feel and that meant he was alive, and not dead, or a demon, like they called it, whatever this meant.

Chloe watched him taking several more gulps from the tea Lex had provided them with, waiting until he had calmed down to a state where she could ask her questions and get answers. She observed his eyes moving around the room again, then glancing over at Lucifer. Nate suddenly dropped his gaze and anxiously shifted on his chair. She looked to her right, disapprovingly eyeing the culprit.

Lucifer raised his hands again, grinning widely, as he assured her: "I'll behave." He just couldn't help himself; humans that had done terrible things smelled of them when they were down here. It was like a perfume of bad behaviour that surrounded them and gave him a rush whenever the scent entered his nostrils. Having been turned only recently, this smell still lingered on the informant like the remains of a deodorant after a long day. Too bad they had to turn him into a demon for the interrogation; he would have had his fun with this soul, that was for sure. But before they had entered the room, he had promised Chloe that he wouldn't do anything to him. However, that didn't include showing him his fiery, burning eyes from time to time to remind this man where exactly he was.

"You do remember Derek, right?" Chloe questioned, her eyes on the man in front of her again, drawing his attention towards herself.

Nate nodded. "The detective from the vice division. I contacted him after his partner had died," he told her, taking another sip from the tea, feeling it running down his gullet and warming up his stomach.

"How did you get to know him?" Chloe asked him, quickly adding to clarify: "His partner, I mean?"

"Well, my official job was a crime scene cleaner, and Jason was newly assigned to me for assistance." A light smile stretched his lips as he halted, thinking back at the moment, and mentioned: "At least that was the name he'd introduced himself to me with. After work we went for a beer and talked. We became friends, and when one day I needed some help in my unofficial job, I asked him. He'd helped me a couple of times until he told me that he was an undercover cop. He wasn't after me, but after Marcus. I got to know Marcus in college and he also provided me with the job as a cleaner a couple of years after I dropped out. He was a police officer back then," he clarified.

Scribbling everything down to ask him later about that topic, she went back to the dead detective. "And do you know how he died?"

Nate nodded, his eyes big, revealing his sorrow, as the memories played in front of his inner eye. "Jason wanted me to testify what the others – Marcus and his friends – did, but I didn't want to talk; I chickened out. He pried too deep into our past, and the others got wind of it. They wanted me to kill him. And being the good little henchman I was, I prepared his car. I didn't know he was using it with his whole family that day, when they had _the accident_." He emphasised the word, to make clear that it was anything but one. "He and his wife died on impact, but their kids were still alive thanks to their safety seats. I called Marcus, telling him that I'll call an ambulance for the kids, but he told me to kill them as well. I couldn't. They were only 3 and 5 years old, they had all of their life still before them. So I denied and called EMS. A couple of minutes later a car approached. I thought it was someone who saw the car and wanted to help, but it were Marcus and Simon, another _friend,_ _"_ he pronounced the name with a tad of hate in his voice. "Simon held me down while Marcus leaned into the car and broke their little necks." He stopped, his eyes blank, and he swallowed the lump in his throat.

Chloe covered the anger that rose inside of her under a calm composure. Only the clenched fist she hid beneath the table gave away what she really felt after hearing that. She suddenly felt Lucifer's hand running across her back to give silent support, and she briefly glanced over to him. His eyes were dark, filled with rage and it would take very little for them to flash up in a flaring fire. She grabbed his other hand and squeezed it gently, sending him a warm smile as he turned his attention to her. He smiled back, nodding once to clarify that he had understood her, before his eyes locked themselves back on the man in front of them. She turned her attention back to the informant as well, listening to him attentively.

"I can still hear the sound of their necks breaking in my ears," he commented, sighing heavily. He stared down at the tea in his hands, swaying the cup a little and watching the liquid spinning around, before he looked back at the detective, telling her: "The next day I called his partner. Said I wanted out and I would tell him everything he'd need to know. I had collected all information about the murders, the money laundering, the bribes – all those 25 years – and I wanted to come clean. But I warned him not to come to me personally, because Marcus would watch him like a hawk. He already had the boss of their division under his loyalists. He told me to -."

"Wait a minute," Chloe interrupted him; the name he used suddenly pointed into a direction that was too bizarre to believe, but she needed clarification on that. "When you talk about Marcus the police officer, to who exactly are you referring to?"

"Marcus Bishop, the Chief of Police," he answered as if this was the most normal thing in the world. "That's how they knew that Jason and Derek were sniffing around."

"Who are they?" Lucifer questioned, interested and surprised. He leaned forward, listening to him with greater attention as the informant came clean on that part.

/-/

Chloe stood in the middle of a hole filled with dirt and scraps in the back area of a huge scrapyard, digging for the old suitcase Nate had buried there, with all information inside. Her newly gained power made it possible for her to heave the heavy metals from the ground. She threw them away, trying to make as little noise as possible in the process. She was exhausted, yes, but determined not to rest until she had found the information Derek needed so desperately to finally bring these bigwigs down. These men Nate had told her about, that thought they stood above the law. No! She would make sure they got what they deserved, after all the things they'd done.

She glared up to Lucifer, sending one of her many deprecating stares at him as she straightened herself, bringing her spine in a normal position and stretching her muscles. Oh, how he would pay later for just standing there, enjoying the sunrise, while letting her dig in this dirt on her own. She might not yet know how exactly, but she would find a way, that was certain.

"Chloe, don't give me that look. You know I would help if I could," Lucifer replied soothingly to her unspoken scolding. He smiled apologetically and folded his arms in front of his chest.

"Last time I checked, you're hands and legs worked perfectly fine. So I see no reason for you to not step down here and give me a little _help_!" she hissed the last word back.

He sighed, tilting his head to one side. "Darling, this is Armani I'm wearing," he stated straightforwardly. "And one of my favourite suits as well. Do you know how complicated and expensive the cleaning will be?" he exculpated himself. It wasn't like he didn't want to help. If she were hurt or in danger, the suit would have been the last thing on his mind, but it wasn't anything like that. He simply found it unnecessary to ruin his favourite suit by something she was perfectly capable of doing herself.

"Since when do you care about money?" she countered, barely holding back her anger about his action, or rather the lack of it.

"My favourite suit," he repeated again, as if this would justify everything. "Look, I've already told you I can call Maze to help you," he added, flashing her one of his best smiles, but to her it only looked like a cocky grin.

"No! She's keeping watch so that we're undisturbed," she retorted, explaining once again why it was her who kept them safe while they – or better _she_ – was illegally digging in a private area. "Her senses regarding that are much better than yours." She wiped the dirt from her hands on her trousers before she bent down again and began to remove the next layer.

"Don't worry, darling. As soon as we're home I'll give you a nice backrub and clean you off myself. You don't have to do anything except lie still in the big cosy bathtub," he purred, flashing her another bright smile. He already felt delighted at that thought, and sighed in anticipation.

Chloe chuckled out loud, contradicting insistently: "Oh no! You don't help me here," she started, pointing to the ground beneath her and staring at him wickedly as she continued: "So, you don't get to help me to clean myself off."

Lucifer's eyes went big with hurt and surprise as he saw his chance to have her naked and slippery between his hands flying away before his eyes. "Very well," he huffed and quickly took off his jacket, putting it on top of an old rusty car. He rolled up his sleeves, replying with a touch of displeasure: "I'm right there to help you."

"Thank you!" she countered mockingly. Her eyes sparkled at the thought that just because of the prospect of seeing her naked, he would do anything. That's something that could definitely come in handy, whenever she needed something from him, she thought, and sent him a teasing smile. She turned back down and dug deeper. Removing another load of dirt, her fingers suddenly scratched across something different than soil or metal. It was firm but textured and she quickly squatted down, her eyes smiling with delight as she wiped the last parts of dirt off of the suitcase. "I've found it!" she called out with a chuckle.

"Now?" he retorted disappointed, two steps away from her. "Let me at least get you that case up here," he offered, hoping it still would count as help.

"No way!" Chloe countered, shaking her head and stretching out her hand to keep him from coming closer. "That I can do myself," she stated and pulled the suitcase out of the ground with ease.

"But this still counts as me having helped you, right?" he questioned, still hoping.

"Nope!" she answered, popping the p. She placed the suitcase next to her, wiping off the dirt from her hands and clothes.

"Come on! I was about to jump in," he objected, feeling really hard done by with that.

"Nuh-uh," she retorted a big smile on her face as she realised how exactly she would let him pay for his lack of support. The chat between her and Lex came back into her mind and her smile stretched to an evil grin. She would give him a little piece of what he could have had if he just had said ' _yes_ ' the first time. Squatting down, she quickly rolled the digits on the locking device to the right numbers to make sure she had the right one, and glanced inside after the hinges popped open. It was filled with files, pictures, audiotapes and a map, and she smiled pleased to herself, shutting it close again and rolling the digits back to random numbers.

"Let me at least carry it," he offered, making a last try.

"No, thanks! I can handle it." She smiled towards him, standing back up, taking the suitcase into her hand and walking off.

"Frick!" he huffed annoyed, grabbing his jacket from the car and trotting after her. This wasn't fair! If she had told him right away that he would get some close contact with her as a thank you later, he had been the first one in that filthy hole. He'd even dug for that suitcase all alone. But no, she had to come with that refusal right before she'd found the thing herself. Completely glossing over that he did want to help her. At least this should count as something.

"Finally found it?" Maze questioned, still wearing her joyful smile she had since entering the torture chamber, as she saw the two emerge from behind the large scrap block.

"Yep!" Chloe answered with a smirk, passing her by. Despite of all its content, the suitcase felt light in her hand, and she had to be careful not to sway it too much from side to side as she headed to the exit.

Maze stared towards Lucifer, who looked clearly miffed, putting his clothes back into order. "What crawled up your ass?" she addressed him.

"None of your business," he growled grumpily, buttoning up his cufflinks, as he walked past her, following the detective. Maybe he could hold her soap if he'd ask nicely. Or the towel, or... Damn it! He was the devil! He shouldn't have to _ask_ in the first place, he thought to himself and shook his head again in frustration. He was her master! But why did the detective seem to always have the say-so?

His snap only made Maze chuckle and she followed them out of the scrapyard, passing the two bulldogs who were still hiding from her inside their dog house, trembling and yelping in fear.

/-/

Lucifer clenched his fists in anger. This wasn't fair! Definitely not fair! Chloe herself had told him that she would never be able to torture someone when they were on the way back from hell. But now she was here, bending over the piano, wearing nothing but one of his long shirts, while she went through the files from the suitcase that were spread out on top of his grand, giving him a full view of her long naked legs and half of her behind, fully aware of what she was doing to him.

It hadn't been easy for him to digest it as he got the bathroom door closed right in his face, knowing that she was inside, enjoying the hot water, while he was locked out with nothing but his imagination. Or when she came out of it again, the tiniest towel wrapped around her that was barely big enough to cover her private parts. But as she went directly to his closet, taking one of his long shirts, knowing damn well that he would never be able to wear this particular one again, because he would depict her in it for the rest of eternity, he was dead sure she was very capable of torturing someone – _him_. And to top it all off, the pleased smile on her lips confirmed to him that she was enjoying this to the fullest.

He leaned over the backrest of his couch, grumbling in frustration and digging his nails into the fabric. He'd tried to approach her earlier, but as he got too close that annoying feeling of something exploding inside his chest had started again. And now all he could do was sit there and run his eyes over her body, silently wishing it were his hands that could grab those perfectly formed butt cheeks which peeked out from under the shirt.

He eyed the watch on his wrist. It was almost 8, and soon the doctor would arrive for the consultation he had arranged with her the day before yesterday. At least he wouldn't have to watch her standing 10 feet away from him, half-naked, while he had to pour his inner fears out to Linda. He sighed and got off the couch, trotting towards the detective but maintaining a safety distance as he stopped next to her. "Linda is about to come in a couple of minutes. So, if you don't want her to see you in all your beauty, I'd suggest you move towards the bedroom with the files," he informed her, hoping he'd sounded as nonchalantly as possible, but as he saw her wide cheeky grin directed at him, he knew he'd failed miserably. He swallowed nervously and averted his gaze as he realised that the top buttons of the shirt were open and she played with the collar, opening the shirt a bit more in the process and giving him a direct view to her cleavage.

"No problem," Chloe replied, grinning with delight at the man next to her as she heard him inhale sharply, his eyes fixed on an invisible spot on the ground to stop himself peeking at the show she was giving him right now. If she'd known how much power she actually had over him, and how much fun it'd be to tease him this way, she'd started this long ago. It took some effort in the beginning, but she quickly figured out how to _sen_ _d_ him the feelings she wanted: making him aroused until he wanted to jump her, and then quickly giving him the emotional cold shower. She almost pitied him for letting him suffer in such a unique way – almost...

She gathered all the files from the piano, holding them in one arm, and provocatively bent down to grab the suitcase.

Lucifer rolled his eyes and quickly looked into the other direction, waiting until he heard her feet walking towards the bedroom, before he stared after her, his eyes burning fiery red from the frustration and anger that had risen inside of him. He didn't know how much longer he could take this punishment. He let out the breath he was holding and squinted his eyes, composing himself, before he opened them again, their colour finally switched back to dark brown. He needed to find a way to get rid of that emotional connection so that he could show her again who exactly was the boss. That was for sure! At least he needed to find a way to get back at her, somehow, before her teasing would drive him nuts. The start of his thoughts of revenge was rudely interrupted as a loud ping resounded through the room, announcing that the doctor was in.

* * *

 **A/N:** Sooooooo, what do you think of Chloe giving him a piece of his own medicine? :D I hope you liked the chapter. Please let me know.

Have a nice day!

:o)


	21. The End

**A/N:** Hello my dear readers. As I already announced a couple of times, this is the last chapter and therefore a little bit longer. I know you won't mind and rather enjoy the length ;)

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for reading, reviewing, favouriting and following this story. You guys are amazing and I never have thought you'd like that story that much :D

This chapter has also been **beta-readed by Daemon**. Thank you for that. You're also awesome, as you already know :D

Enjoy!

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"Good morning Lucifer," Linda greeted him friendly as she saw him turning towards her with his usual smug smile.

"Hello, doctor. How was your ride?" Lucifer purred, his unpleasant emotions quickly pushed away as he directed her towards the couch. He poured her a glass of water before he took a seat opposite to her. Taking his glass of bourbon from the coffee table, he let the liquid whirl around as he swayed the drink in his hand, eyeing the therapist.

"Fine. Less traffic jam at this time of the day," Linda answered with a smile on her lips and stroke the wrinkles out of her dress. She sat back against the backrest, inhaling deeply to calm down the beginning of a nervous thought. If one had told her a year ago that she would meet a patient she broke every possible rule for she'd set herself, she would have laughed out loud. But now she was here, sitting inside her patient's apartment once again, because he claimed to be the devil and to be unable to be too far away from the woman that had been dead, but was pretty much alive now. Well, he wasn't an ordinary patient, and as long as he made such big progress he'd done within the last couple of weeks, she was certain to overlook all the things she couldn't explain to herself. "So," she started, glancing at Lucifer with a warm smile. "You sounded pretty distraught on the phone when you'd called me, but now you look like at ease," she declared, observing everyone of his facial expressions. Recently, they seemed to give away more freely what he was feeling, and that was a big improvement compared to the hiding-everything-behind-a-smug-grin-person she had to deal with in the beginning.

"Yes, yes, doctor," Lucifer confirmed with a proud smile, taking a sip of his drink, before he placed the glass down on the table. Crossing his legs and resting his folded hands on top of his knee, he let out a relieved sigh, explaining: "I was distraught, but it seems I got over that quite quickly."

"You wanna tell me about it?" she questioned and looked at him expectantly.

Lucifer thought back at the first kiss he'd shared with Chloe, and the exploding sensation that had followed after. He'd called Linda that night, intending to discuss every little detail about it with her, but now it seemed too private for him. He felt like he would give away something that he'd shared only between Chloe and himself, and it didn't seem right any longer. He quickly shook his head, making clear that he wouldn't discuss this with anyone anymore. Besides, he'd already done so anyway; with Ian, after their little fight down in hell, when he'd figured out that there was an unbreakable connection between him and Chloe. It had been there all the time, right from the beginning, and he'd only realised it during that fight. Or, to be more precise, right after it, when his heart was aching from the unknown, the insecurity about whether Chloe was staying with him because she couldn't go, or because she truly wanted to be with him, regardless of the invisible chains that were wrapped around their wrists, keeping them from leaving each other.

"Well, what do you want to talk about, then?" Linda questioned nonchalantly and quickly brought him out of his thoughts.

He sighed, not quite sure about the answer, but then remembered the little moment when he had told Ian he could use a drink, and the demon had stood up from the chair he was sitting on, going to a shelf and opening it to retrieve a bottle of bourbon and two glasses, pouring one for each of them. He was genuinely surprised as he got sight of the liquid. He hadn't been able to enjoy a decent shot of whiskey before he'd come to L.A. And to his question how it was possible they had it down there, Ian simply answered that Lex had made it for special occasions.

Lucifer sighed again, his brows had shifted to a light frown as he counter-questioned: "Linda, do you remember what I told you about Lex?"

"Yes," Linda replied and rummaged in her brain to gather the information. "She is one of your demons down in hell, right?" As she saw him nodding affirmingly, she questioned: "Do you want to talk about her?"

He nodded again, explaining a little bit more: "I made her to rule in hell for me. But to do that, she needed a bit of my powers. So, I exchanged pieces of our hearts," he halted and his casual expression turned into one of worry. "She's able to do things I'm not capable of, and this shouldn't be possible."

"Well, can you tell me a bit more about her? Where did you find her? How did you pick her for the job? And what _things_ are you speaking of?" she asked and stared at him expectantly.

Lucifer was puzzled at her question, but then mentally clutched his head. Of course she couldn't know who Lex was; he'd never used her name before during their consultations. "She's the murderer we were after," he declared straightforwardly. "She tortured all those bad guys to death, that's why I picked her after she died. Well, we two made a deal so she could look for her boyfriend." He stopped, recognising the perplexed look on the doctor's face, and decided to quickly elucidate on that part as well. "As it turned out, I was right, back then. Lex didn't kill those people because she was evil, but because she wanted to go down to hell to find her boyfriend, Ian, who was already there."

"I didn't know it works this way?" Linda tossed in, a little flabbergasted at the information.

Lucifer chuckled at her remark. "That's what I told her. We made a deal shortly before she died, and then I went down to hell to fulfil my part. But as I saw all these souls that waited to be tortured, I decided to make her my second-in-command, so she could rule in my absence. In return, she had enough power to create her own demons, and to be together with Ian again."

"But you can create demons as well," she commented, thinking that this was the thing he meant.

"Yes, that's not what I'm wondering about," he countered. "Chloe and me had to return to hell a couple of hours ago, to find someone and get information out of him. Lex had changed my chambers: The stone walls were gone, replaced by wooden panels, and she is able to create trees, and grass, and water. She created something like a Garden of Eden. Down in hell. Can you imagine that?" he questioned rhetorically, the bafflement clearly swinging in his voice. He didn't wait for an answer and went on, shaking his head in disbelief: "The place that was created to torture bad souls till eternity turned into a place where some of them could enjoy their afterlife peacefully."

"And you're angry that she's changed it?" Linda assumed, processing everything he'd told her at a record time.

"No. Not really," Lucifer denied, and a low chuckle escaped his throat. "Just bewildered, actually, that she's capable of all this. She can even erase memories from the souls that get tortured. But I don't know what else she is capable of and, to be honest, this frightens me a little."

Linda tilted her head, attentively watching him. So far, what he said was in accordance with the expression on his face, but whenever he stopped talking, his eyes revealed an emotion she couldn't quite decipher. Trying to find out what was hidden beneath his surface, she questioned: "Why? Do you think she will turn against you one day?"

Absent-mindedly he shook his head. "Even if she would try to, I'm far more powerful than her. She had this power for like 30 years or something by now, and yours truly has been created with that power millions of years ago. She's like a fly in my hand, I could smash her any time I like."

"Then what are you afraid of?" she countered a little provocatively.

Lucifer hunched his shoulders cluelessly. "I don't know!"

He was silent for a moment, and again that unknown emotion flashed across his eyes. "Are you jealous of her?" Linda questioned nonchalantly, trying to lure it out of him.

"What should I be jealous of? That she makes it homely and doesn't want to leave that place?" he retorted, a little too defensive than he'd intended to, but he couldn't help it. Her question alone stirred up an anger inside of him he didn't know where it came from.

"It used to be your home, too," Linda mentioned casually.

"It was never my home!" he contradicted right away, the anger now visible on his face. "I was condemned down there. It was a punishment. I hated it."

"And she doesn't?" she enquired and studied his features like an encyclopedia.

Lucifer stared at her and his face softened instantly as he answered truthfully: "No, she loves it down there, I think. It's the place where she can be together with Ian again."

The way he said it sounded sad, almost wistfully and Linda waited a bit for him to continue with speaking out the thought that was so visibly written all over his face, but he remained silent, just looking up and forcing a smile to assure her that he was fine. He wasn't, she clearly could tell, and she tried to sustain the conversation. "What exactly are your powers; except for turning souls into demons?"

"You mean besides my devilishly good looks and my outstanding stamina?" he questioned cockily, winking at her, and chuckled as he saw her blushing. He reached into his pocket, got out his pentecostal coin and spun it in mid-air, commenting as he did so: "This is just a gimmick. I was much more powerful when I still had my wings. And before I was Lucifer, before I was banned from heaven, my job was to punish the bad people right on earth for their behaviour. I showed them their deepest, darkest fears; made them go through a piece of hell right then and there by bending reality to my will. And," he halted as something shot back into his mind, something he'd long forgotten. "Well, each time I went down to earth, I was able to make them forget me; I just left them in their shell of agony after I had my fun, crying and shaking after what I've showed them." He looked up, staring at Linda with a stern expression. "But that's all in that matter. I destroy people, I _destroy_ things. And I pretty much liked it, until I got sick of it." He halted again and his eyes searched for an invisible spot on the ground as he mentioned, his voice barely above a whisper: "Still, this doesn't explain why she is able to _create_ them."

Linda took a deep breath, soothing her own troubled feelings, as she slowly exhaled. He needed a functioning therapist right now and not someone who'd freak out by all the things she'd just heard and seen. She took another breath, silently clapping her shoulder that she had herself under such big control, as she concentrated on the task ahead and questioned: "Well, did you ever try it?"

Lucifer's head shot up and he stared at her with blank eyes. "Try what?"

"To create things," she replied, elucidating further: "Let grow trees or change your chambers."

"Why should I?" Lucifer retorted, squinting his eyes in disgust. "As I said before, it was a punishment for me to be there. So, why should I want to make it my home?"

"But when you never tried it, how can you be so sure that you don't have this power as well? Maybe it was inside of you all this time, but you were so occupied with hating it there that you never considered it in the first place."

Lucifer went silent, thinking about her words. It was true, he never did try anything else than the things he already knew he could do. He even forgot that he was able to make people not remember him until he'd mentioned it to her just now. A low chuckle escaped him as he realised that Lex, despite being with his powers for only such a short amount of time, already figured out to do good with them, while he, existing millions of years with them, did nothing than to destroy. His heart got heavy again and his mind unwillingly wandered back to the moment he was looking for Chloe, filled with emotions of worry and lost as he suddenly couldn't sense her presence any longer. It was only thanks to Ian that he hadn't freaked out then and there. And then, when they'd eventually found them, sitting in the grass, chatting and laughing, Chloe had looked so at ease, like she hadn't been in a long time; something he blamed himself for.

"Lucifer, what is it that you're thinking of?" Linda questioned warily. She had watched him attentively and as it showed up again, this expression in his eyes she couldn't figure out the reason for, she couldn't help but bring him out of his daze.

Lucifer sighed but shook his head, refusing to look her in the eyes. He turned his head, gazing towards the glass sliding door that separated the living room from the bedroom. He took another deep breath, closing his eyes, and smiled relieved as he felt Chloe's presence and a warm wave rushed through his body, soothing his troubled mind.

"Lucifer?" Linda questioned again, hoping he would answer her this time.

He opened his eyes again, staring at her. "It's fine, Linda," he assured her as he saw her concerned face.

"Are you sure?" she questioned, this time not hiding the worry for him in her tone.

Lucifer nodded, smiled in a friendly manner and stood up. "I think you can go now," he commented and led her to the elevator. As they were in front of it, he pressed the button to call the little cubicle. "Thank you, Linda. I really appreciate all you've done for me," he said as the doors went open and the therapist stepped inside.

Linda was puzzled about his sudden odd behaviour, but also knew that she couldn't do much when he wanted her to go. She put on a friendly smile and replied warmly: "You know I'm always glad to help you. Please call me if you need anything," she added, receiving an honest smile and a nod from him, before the doors closed between them and the elevator went down.

Lucifer turned on his heels and headed straight to the bedroom. He slid the door to the side, making as little noise as possible in the process, and smiled delightedly at the view that presented itself in front of him: Chloe was lying across the big bed on her stomach, her upper body bent upwards as she supported herself on her forearms. The files sprawled out in front of her, she attentively listened to audiotapes while scribbling something down on her notepad. He stepped forward, placing himself behind her feet that were lifted in the air by her bent legs. His eyes ran down her body, and he narrowed them lightly in disappointment as he got sight of the panties she was wearing now.

His hands clasped around her heels, rubbing across the cool skin to warm them up, and Chloe quickly turned her head, pulling out her earplugs as well. She smiled at him, her intention to tease him long forgotten, as her mind was fully occupied by the case. "How was your session?" she questioned curiously and turned her head back to stop the recorder from playing, before she gave him her full attention.

"Good," Lucifer answered briefly, continuing with caressing her feet and lower legs. "How's your progress?" he questioned in return and nodded towards the files.

Chloe followed his gaze and tucked her legs under herself to get into a crouching position. "Great!" she proclaimed with a sparkle in her eyes. "We almost have everything to bring these people down." She bent forward, grabbing a map and holding it high, as she explained: "See, he marked all the places where he'd buried their victims."

Lucifer stared wide-eyed at her behind, no thought spent at anything else than the two perfectly shaped cheeks in front of him, as he replied with a cheeky grin: "I see very clearly, thank you."

At the wolfish sound of his voice, Chloe looked back at him and rolled her eyes at his predictable behaviour. She sat up completely, pressing her back into his front to look up at him, as she countered in a scolding voice: "Focus, Lucifer!"

"I am focussing," he retorted, now staring down at her bare cleavage she unintentionally presented to him.

Chloe squinted her eyes in annoyance, grabbed his chin and pulled his head towards the sheet she was holding, causing his upper body to bend down a little. "On the map!" she ordered, on edge.

He let out a low "Oh!" as he adjusted his attention, looking at the drawn crosses in an area a little outside of L.A. As she let go of his chin, he moved his lower jaw to ease the muscles, commenting with an indifferent tone: "Interesting." He rested his chin on her shoulder, placing his arms to both sides of her to support his own weight and to slightly snuggle into her. "Can't you just give all of this to the detective, so we can devote our time to more important things?"

Chloe let out a huff and narrowed her eyes at him again. "This is important!"

Lucifer turned his head to lock eyes with her, a sly grin on his lips, giving away the second thoughts in his head, as he assured her truthfully: "I have no doubt about that." He suddenly grabbed around her waist, pulled her halfway up and pushed her on the bed, grabbing the map as he got on top of her and throwing it to the side while he pinned her down with his full body. "I just thought, we could continue our little interaction from before my doctor arrived," he purred softly, licking across his lips with his tongue, as he stared into the deep blue of her eyes, almost losing himself in their depths.

"Really?" Chloe glared at him, perplexed, both her arms pushing at his chest to prevent him from getting any closer to her. "There is evidence lying next to us to bring four of the most corrupt and most influential people of L.A. down, and you wanna make out with me?" she reprimanded him angrily. She really thought he had changed over the last couple of days when he'd shown so much care and protection towards her, but no, once again he had to behave like this horny, reckless teenager she got to know in the beginning of their partnership. This was so typical of him!

Lucifer straightened himself, his weight fully supported on his lower arms that were next to both her sides, and his pupils changed to an almost black colour as he closely observed her features, silently listing the emotions he saw flashing up on her face: the anger, the confusion, the... disappointment. His lust was instantly gone and made room for the distressing feelings that came up during the session with Linda; those he wanted to be gone so badly. He sighed heavily as he voiced the words that had formed in his heart and left him through the tip of his tongue: "I am not a good person, Chloe. You must never forget that. I am the devil. I'll take what is mine, whenever I want to. And I will never, ever let you go." Seeing the flicker of perplexity and fright flashing through her eyes, he rolled himself off of her, rubbing across his own eyes before he locked them to an invisible spot at the ceiling.

Chloe lifted herself up and stared at him for a moment. She didn't know what suddenly had come over him to change from the carefree tease to the man of misery in the blink of an eye; it definitely weren't her feelings, this she knew. She crawled up to him, resting her arm above his head and staring down at his face. He shirked from her view and she used her free hand to move his chin back and make him look at her. "Is something wrong?" she whispered, concerned.

Lucifer turned his head, lightly shaking it in the process. "I'm fine," he assured her, but Chloe clearly saw the truth. She wanted to scream _liar_ at him, but knew better.

She moved his face back towards her, locking eyes with him as she caressed across his cheek, smiling warmly. "I know you, Lucifer! You are a good person," she contradicted and gently kissed his forehead.

Unwittingly, his arms wrapped around her waist and he pulled her a little closer, running his hand across her back as he shook his head again. "You don't know the slightest thing about me, my dear."

"I know enough," she countered and silenced his upcoming protest with a tender kiss on his mouth.

Lucifer tightened the grip around her, decreasing the non-existing space between them, and moved his hand up to her head, holding her in place as he intensified their kiss. He pulled them back around, pushing her back into the mattress, and his tongue licked across her lips, requesting entry that was instantly granted. Soft moans escaped their throats as their tongues rubbed across each other, gently battling for dominance. There was no burning, no explosion inside of him, just the feeling of Chloe's hand moving from behind his neck to his chest and gently pushing against it, to make him recognise that she wanted him to stop. And he obeyed. He withdrew his tongue from her mouth, giving her one last passionate kiss, before he pulled back completely and lifted his head, allowing them both to get some needed air into their lungs.

"Thanks," Chloe breathed with a warm smile that stretched her lips up to her ears. She knew how much he wanted to continue, she felt it very evidently, and the fact that he stopped nonetheless meant a lot to her. She looked up into his dark brown eyes and her fingers moved to his lips, wiping away the moisture. He leaned into her touch and she caressed across his cheek before moving upwards and gently running her fingers through his hair.

Lucifer shut his eyes and took a deep breath, relishing her caress a bit more, before he grabbed her arm and pulled her hand away. He could barely hold himself back and needed to remove as much contact with her as possible to get his mind and body back under control. "You really want that case solved, don't you?" he questioned and pushed himself off of her, rolling back on his back.

Chloe nodded approvingly. She rolled to her side, supporting her head on her outstretched hand, and explained to him: "So far, Nate had managed to link three of them with the crimes, most of all this Marcus, but their head, Jeff Williams, can only be linked to them if all of them give their testimony. And I feel it in my guts that they'll keep shut. After all he is the city council, he could bail them all out, one way or the other."

Recalling the interrogation with the informant, Lucifer questioned, eyeing her from out of the corners of his eyes: "But didn't Nate say something about him keeping souvenirs of their victims?"

"Yeah!" she affirmed, letting out a low sigh as she commented: "But it's quite easy to get rid of them as soon as this whole process starts. And the prosecutors might find that it's better to have three solids than four maybes." She'd seen this kind of procedure often enough during her time as a police officer. The judges and lawyers were more than happy to get the henchmen into jail, but as soon as it came to their puppet masters, they mostly chickened out and it frustrated her immensely, to say the least. But this time, she was certain to make sure that those responsible would go down as well.

Lucifer nodded, understanding her to the fullest. This Jeff was the worst of them all. He was the one who killed their first victim 25 years ago, accidentally or not, he was the driving force behind their dirty games. He sighed deeply, suppressing the urge to run his fingers across her bare legs as he glanced at them. Locking his eyes back with her, he questioned, one eyebrow raised in curiosity: "So, what do you suggest?"

"Get into his house and find the souvenirs," she answered straightforwardly, not hiding the light smirk that stretched her lips in anticipation.

He eyed his watch. Considering the time, they still had about six hours before someone needed to get her spawn from school. This was enough time to get to his house, retrieve the evidence and get back, but it was dangerous. A city council didn't leave his home unprotected, particularly not in L.A., and most particularly not when he has some skeletons in his closet. He sighed again, thinking it through, but then nodded his agreement. "We'll need Maze for that."

The smirk on her lips turned into a full smile at his words, and her eyes beamed with joy. "I think she'll be delighted to kick some ass."

/-/

The house was situated in one of those more noble neighbourhoods with high fences and lots and lots of privacy. So private that no one got aware as three figures sneaked up on the private property of Jeff Williams through the back area that was shielded from all too curious eyes by high and thick bushes.

Chloe once again cursed under her breath because she didn't have her badge anymore; it would have opened them some neighbour's doors to have a better look at the house. But they had to take what they could get, and so, peeking through the branches onto the area was all they could do for the moment. At least these bushes made a good cover for themselves as well.

"He is definitely hiding something," Lucifer mentioned warily, his attention fully directed onto the bunch of people dressed in black who walked across the green field of the area with visible bulges under their jackets which revealed they were armed.

"So far, I count 10 guards on the outside," Chloe commented lowly and pursed her lips in frustration. From what she learned in police academy about securing a building, there should always be equal numbers inside and outside of those objects. And her experience also told her that they could expect at least another ten guards inside the house, if not more. Her only hope was that Williams didn't care about the standard procedures and was more of an appearance person than substance person.

"Only?" Maze questioned baffled, the disappointment about the number clearly swinging in her tone. "Give me ten minutes for them," she announced and was about to turn on her heels as Chloe grabbed her by the arm, holding her back. Maze darted a glance at here that almost screamed ' _let go of me if you wanna li_ _v_ _e_ '.

Chloe quickly released her, accompanied by a whispered "sorry", before she warned her: "You can't just knock them out."

"Why not?" she huffed in response, miffed that the detective wanted to deny her some fun.

"It will draw too much attention and they'll get alerted for a possible break-in. It's too risky, sorry," she told her off, knowing this type of happening all too well through her work. Some guards walked dangerously close to the place they hid in and Chloe quickly motioned her companions to stay silent until they were safe again.

"And what are we supposed to do, then?" Maze questioned as the guards had walked out of hearing distance, but still kept her voice low.

"We could always come back here at night," Lucifer suggested, observing the guards while eyeing the women next to him through the corners of his eyes.

Chloe shook her head. "The best break-ins are done by broad daylight; that's when you least expect it. We just need to figure out how to quickly get in there without drawing too much attention," she explained, going through several more possible break-in scenarios in her head, while watching the scene.

Maze huffed lightly and walked a bit to the side, peeking onto the backside of the house. "What about that open window over there?" she asked them curiously and pointed to what she meant.

Chloe and Lucifer made their way towards her and followed her finger to see what she meant.

The corners of Chloe's lips stretched into a smile and she nodded approvingly. "That's a good entrance." She looked further up and down the house, searching for any technical surveillance. "I don't see any cameras on the outside," she mentioned puzzled. "What type of highly influential person doesn't have any security cameras?"

"The type of person who doesn't want anyone to hack into the security system and get spied out," Maze suggested a wicked grin painted on her face.

"Maybe that's the reason he has ten guards on the outside, because he's paranoid as hell," Lucifer added, smirking at the pun and glancing sideways to see the detective nod absent-mindedly. "So, let's imagine we make it through the garden to the window and inside without getting seen. What then?"

"We search the rooms for the souvenirs and if we've found them, we make pictures and seize them. Then, we somehow need to make it out of there without getting seen or shot so I can call Derek and hand him over all the evidence," Chloe answered, sighing at the what seemed like an impossible task.

Maze grinned at her. "Sounds like fun to me." She couldn't wait to get started and already stretched her muscles.

Chloe rolled her eyes at the remark. "Of course it does."

"Alright, Maze, go and distract the guards somehow, so we can get to that window," Lucifer ordered in a low tone. He glanced at her, seeing her nod and walking past him. He quickly grabbed her arm, holding her back and whispering to her: "Try not to get caught too soon." Seeing her nod again, he added, bending forward so they weren't overheard by the detective: "And in case we get caught..."

"Don't worry, I'll save your ass," she assured him, smiling brightly in anticipation of what she was about to do.

Lucifer shook his head slightly, concern let him keep a straight face. "No. I want you to protect Chloe. No matter what happens to me. Make sure she'll get out of that house safely. Understood?" He raised one of his eyebrows, expectantly staring at his demon, awaiting an answer.

Annoyed, Maze pursed her lips but nodded nevertheless. She wasn't happy about that order, but she once made an oath to him to serve him. And no matter what, she would obey to his command. Turning around, she left the two on their own and made her way to the opposite side of the area.

It didn't take long and the guards were listening attentively to a voice in their ear-pieces. They turned around and quickly rushed out of sight.

Chloe didn't like the idea to intrude a house full of security when she didn't know what she was looking for or how long it would take. It felt like a suicide mission, but she knew they had no choice. "Alright. Let's go," she ordered as she felt sure they were unwatched. They quickly made it through the bushes and over the head-high fence, ducking their heads while they ran across the lawn and quickly rushed through the ajar window inside the house. They found themselves inside the laundry room and Chloe leaned the window again when Lucifer was inside, too, to not let them be seen.

She turned around, seeing him at the door already. "What are you doing?" she hissed in a hushed voice.

"I'm sure he doesn't keep the souvenirs in here," Lucifer retorted with a smirk, likewise in a hushed tone. "I just want to see if the coast is clear."

Chloe was quickly at his side, keeping him from opening the door. "I know that. But it's my case, I'll go first."

"Chloe, I'm your master, I'll go first," Lucifer objected, trying to stare her down with a stern expression; to no avail, she simply knew him too well.

"Really?" she rolled her eyes. "Now is not the time to pull the master-card! I'll-."

He quickly shushed her, shoved her aside and opened the door to get a peek into the hallway. It seemed empty and he stepped out fully.

"Lucifer!" she hissed under her breath as he disappeared completely.

The two minutes he was gone felt like eternity to her, and the fear for him grew inside her chest, making it almost impossible to breathe. But all the load fell off of her as he opened the door again, grabbing her by the hand and quickly guiding her into a room that looked like a mixture of a library and study room. He closed the door behind them and turned around, getting greeted by a pair of livid eyes glaring at him.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Chloe rebuked him, hiding her worry for him behind her angry glare.

"I'm the devil, remember?" he simply retorted, cocking his head, and stepped further into the room, looking around.

"So you're not mortal any longer?" she questioned, unintentionally remembering the moment when he'd bled after she'd shot him in his leg.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know. Didn't really have time to check on that," he commented, but his mind was already distracted by the large library area, filled with books to both sides of two aisles.

"Well, I would really appreciate it if you don't try to find that out today," she countered worriedly, and went into the other direction, inspecting the large desk that was situated in front of two large windows.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Lucifer changed the topic and nonchalantly looked through the many books. He walked further into the aisle on the left, casually taking books out and briefly browsing through them, before he put them back and walked further. The aisle made a turn. He followed it and suddenly found himself in the aisle on the right, re-entering the study area where the detective was still busy with rummaging around on the desk.

"On the audiotapes they said something about earrings and necklaces. Something along these lines," Chloe answered, looking through the drawers but finding only more paperwork. There were no hidden drawers either, and she sighed in frustration. If they didn't find it in this room, they would have to go out again, risking to get caught and she hoped, imploringly, that they hit pay dirt in here. It was, after all, the most obvious room in this house.

Lucifer went through the books once more, looking if one of them was a secret case but so far, they were all real. He eyed the spiral staircase in the corner and glanced up to the floor above with a smirk on his lips before he made his way upwards. There was a small corridor with a long wall covered in book-shelves but not as deep as the floor below, and a statue of Aphrodite, standing in the corner and gazing at the wall. She was only coated by a chiselled blanket, waving around her legs and covering not even half of her private parts. A smug grin flashed across his face as he took a closer look at the detailed work of her human features: the fine hairs on her arms and tiny wrinkles in the corners of her limbs, making it look like it was a real human that was frozen in time, but what delighted him the most were the two detailed little peaks on her breasts. He quickly turned around, ensuring that the detective was still occupied on the ground floor, before his eyes landed back on the hard knobs. Driven by his inner child, he moved with his index finger to poke the first nipple, silently snickering before he turned to the second one. A high-pitched click was suddenly heard and the bookshelves that had covered the wall moved forward, revealing a hidden room behind them. "Um, detective?" he called her, surprised, keeping his voice low, as he leaned over the handrail.

Chloe looked up, seeing him beckoning her over, and quickly made her way to him. She stared at the entrance and then at him, wide-eyed, and a victorious smile stretched her lips. "You are a genius," she praised him, standing on tiptoes to give him a peck on his cheek before she stepped into the room.

Lucifer grinned smugly and cocked his head. She didn't need to know how exactly he'd found the hidden room, he concluded to himself. He followed her inside and his smile stretched even further at the sight of the souvenirs, neatly stowed away inside of glass cubicles, spread out across the wall. This room was vital for the successful lock-up of these villains, and he was delighted at the thought that _he_ found the decisive trace. Come to think of how delighted he is going to be when Chloe will thank him _appropriately_ for his help in this case later, he thought and his anticipation for that made a skip.

Chloe pulled out her phone, taking evidence photos and sending them to Derek, as suddenly a voice resounded behind their backs, startling her to the core.

"Well, what have we here?" Maze chirped gleefully, a huge grin on her face, playing with her dagger in her hand.

Chloe turned around, glaring at her. "You scared me to death," she rebuked her, taking a deep breath to compose herself.

Maze wetted her lips, in a too good mood to let the detective destroy that, she countered smugly: "That's not possible anymore." She stepped further into the room, looking at the numerous things inside, while she continued playing with her toy.

Lucifer trusted Maze fully. And if it were just the two of them, standing here, he wouldn't have minded her play, but seeing her swirl a dagger around that was forged in hell with the only purpose to destroy demons, standing so close to Chloe, he couldn't and didn't want to take the risk. "Be careful with where you're whirling this around," he cautioned her and quickly grabbed for the tool, wrenching it out of his bartender's hand before she could even react. The sharp blade cut through the flesh of his hand in the quick process, and it instantly started to bleed. He grumbled crossly at the mishap, but quickly clenched his fingers and covered his hand with his other to not let any of the blood drip to the ground, the dagger still firmly gripped, as he stepped out of the room. "Where are the guards?" he questioned and made his way to the stairs.

Chloe startled as she saw his wound and was about to get to him, already grabbing for the tissue in her trouser pocket to provide at least some cover, as he raised his arms and gestured her to stop. "It's fine, Chloe. I'll go dry the blood quickly. and you do what you have to do." He nodded towards the souvenirs and turned around, walking down the stairs and towards the tiny sink that was placed in the corner next to the door, above the mini-bar.

"Don't worry, he's fine," Maze assured her as she saw her worried eyes.

Chloe looked back at her, repeating Lucifer's question: "Where are the guards?"

"Stupid humans, they didn't even know I was there. They thought it were some annoying little teenagers playing them a trick, so I decided to follow you into the house, hoping you had more fun, but," she sighed and gestured around them, "this looks even more boring."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Chloe countered, taking a breath, and turned back to the evidence. She took more pictures, sending them to Derek before she withdrew the plastic bags from out of the inside pocket of her jacket and started to store the items away.

Lucifer washed the blood away and wrapped one of the hand towels lying besides the marbled basin around his palm, as suddenly the door went open and a suited man in his late forties stepped inside.

"Who are you?" the man questioned, his emotions packed under a straight face and his voice calm, despite the dicey situation.

Lucifer whirled around, hiding his surprise behind a cheeky smile. "I'm the book inspector," he quipped. "You have a marvellous library in here."

The man narrowed his eyes at the intruder, pursing his lips as he glanced over to the sink and spotted the dagger lying there. He simply raised his arm, flicking his fingers twice, and instantly two security guards came rushing inside the room. Without making a noise, he pointed towards Lucifer and the guards leaped forward, simultaneously punching him into his stomach and face and grabbing him by his arms, holding tight.

If Lucifer had been alone, he instantly would have struck back, but with Chloe upstairs, and the evidence, he couldn't risk her getting caught as well. He clenched his teeth, swallowing the anger that rose inside of him and looked up to the apparent owner of the house, blood running down his chin from where his lip had been chapped. "Isn't this a nice welcome to a guest?" he questioned, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You're not a guest. And you're not welcome," the man retorted dryly, calling more guards into the room. "Bring him downstairs. I'll join you when he's ready to talk," he ordered his men.

"Oh, you don't have to bring me anywhere. I'm willing to talk right here, right now," Lucifer chirped, putting on a smile while trying not to show too much of the pain he felt as a third guard punched him into his kidney.

"My experience taught me that no one is ready to talk before they have been beaten up properly," the man countered calmly. "Don't worry, it won't take long and I'll join you for a chat." He gestured to his men and they dragged Lucifer out of the room, then he pointed to the last two remaining men and commanded sternly: "Search the room."

They swarmed out, one looking through the library downstairs, one heading directly for the first floor. Everything seemed in its place, no books were lying anywhere and they quickly reported their boss. "All clear."

The man nodded and took place at the desk. "Search the house," he ordered, waiting until the men had nodded their understanding and left the room, before he turned his attention to the computer in front of him.

Silently, Maze pushed the heavy bookshelves open and both women crawled out from their hiding place, crouching forward to the handrail and watching the man sitting at his desk from between the wooden bars.

The noise of keyboard buttons being pressed resounded through the room as he typed in some commands and then watched something on the screen, a pleased smile on his lips. He reached for the receiver of his phone, dialling a number and placing the receiver cap against his ear. "Marcus? Hey, it's me, Jeff," he introduced himself. "Do you already have a new cleaner at the ready?... Yeah, I'll need one to get rid of a body," he stated, listening some more to the man on the other line of the phone. "Great, I'll see you then," he replied and ended the call, putting the receiver back into its holder.

Chloe gaped as she heard the man's words and quickly covered her mouth to not let any noise pass her lips. She wanted to stand up, leap forward and do anything to help Lucifer, but Maze's strong arms kept her pinned down to the ground. Jeff stood up from his chair and walked towards the door, a light swing in his hip at the upcoming joy, leaving the room.

Maze waited a little until she heard his footsteps walking away before she released the detective from out of her grip.

Chloe sprang up and darted down the stairs, heading for the computer to see what he was looking at that brought his mood into such joy, the fear of getting assured of what he probably was viewing creeping into her heart. She stared at the monitor and inhaled sharply as she saw Lucifer sitting on a chair, surrounded by four guards, tied to the armrests, getting beaten up. A panicked "No!" escaped her throat and instinctively, she grabbed for her gun. She cursed once again, as she only grasped into thin air, remembering that she no longer was a detective and no longer had her gun with her. "It was a suicide mission. I knew it!" she hissed, angry about herself. How could she be so reckless and get him into danger without any protection. Why did she have to go on that case on her own? Why didn't she let this be regulated by the real police, the ones with guns? These guys would beat him up, badly, and, according to what she'd heard, would also kill him – and this was all her fault. She paced back and forth, trying to get the panic inside of her under control while thinking of a solution.

"Calm down," Maze told her in a flat voice, stepping beside her and eyeing the screen.

Chloe glanced at her and was about to counter a remark as she held herself back, voicing instead: "We need to go there and help him."

"No," the ninja demon denied. "He ordered me to keep you safe, no matter what is happening to him." It didn't suit her at all to see her master getting beaten by filthy humans, but orders were orders, and she wouldn't flout them.

"So we stay here and wait for them to beat him up further and kill him?" Seeing Maze shrugging her shoulders, she questioned, hope swinging in her tone: "They can't really kill him, right? I mean, he's the devil. He can't die and stop existing, right?"

"He'll go back to hell when they kill him," Maze answered and eyed the monitor once more. Something flashed up on the screen and she bent forwards, real worry for her master settling down on her face. "Shit!"

"What?" Chloe questioned startled; the little outcry instantly made her hair stand on end in alarm.

Maze's eyes narrowed and her lips pursed to a thin line before she turned her head around and answered: "They have my dagger."

Chloe stared at her blankly. She didn't know why this was a problem, but also didn't like the way her answer had sounded. "And?" she questioned with puzzled eyes staring at the other woman, mentally preparing herself for the worst.

"This dagger was made in hell," Maze explained brusquely, elucidating further: "If they kill him with that, or just harm him badly, he will be wiped out of existence."

"What?" She cried out in horror, running her hands through her hair to get rid of some of the pent up emotions. "Why does someone make such weapons?" She couldn't believe what she'd just heard, Lucifer was in real danger right now, because of her, and the worst was, she didn't know how she could help him and it made her furious.

"You humans make weapons to kill each other, too," Maze countered dryly, stepping a bit further away from the once-human. Somehow she sensed Chloe would let out her anger on something or keel over, and she wasn't eager for any of them.

"We need to help him," she blurted out, pacing back and forth in desperation. They had to do something. They couldn't just keep on packing up the souvenirs and leave while he was downstairs, going through the worst scenario possible. After all, he still was her partner.

"We can't do anything," Maze replied and brought the detective out of her thoughts. "When we go down there you might get hurt, and I can't risk that. I can't leave you alone here either because he gave me that order."

"Screw that order!" Chloe hissed in frustration. She didn't want to just stand there, doing nothing. She needed to help him. After all, he had helped her all the times, bringing all these villains down: Jimmy Barnes, Joe Hanson, the spider. She's seen all his supernatural strength. But why was he just sitting there in the chair and let himself get beaten up? "Why isn't he stronger than them?" she voiced her bafflement. "He's the devil, after all."

Maze rolled her eyes, hating it that she had to state the obvious to her. "Because of you, Chloe!" she answered, the anger about this blonde sounded clearly in her voice. "You make him vulnerable to humans and their weapons. He would have a chance to survive this, if you wouldn't be near him."

Chloe stared at her with mouth and eyes wide open, she didn't know what to think of that. Slowly, the demon's words sunk in and she processed them: If Maze knew, then Lucifer knew as well. _She_ made him weak. But still, he chose to work with her, to be at her side, regardless of his own safety. Her heart skipped a beat as she remembered the words he'd told her that night in her house: ' _You make me vulnerable, too._ ' Back then, she thought he meant this in an emotional way, but hearing the truth now brought them into a completely new light. He literally could die when he was with her. And still, he _chose_ _her_. Chloe took a deep breath to calm down all the emotions that ran around in her body, knowing now how exactly she could help him: She'd _chose_ _him_ over her own safety. "Then bring me away from here," she simply stated, looking her companion straight in the eyes.

"What?" Maze questioned, flabbergasted.

Chloe straightened herself, making it clear that she knew what she was saying and that she meant every word of it. "Bring me away until our connection is severed. This will bring him back his power and he will survive."

"You're forgetting something," Maze countered, her own feelings torn between instantly following Chloe's instructions to save her master and obeying his orders. "If I'll bring you that far away you'll die. And since you're a demon now, you won't go back to good old hell, you'll die for good."

"I don't care," Chloe countered, shaking her head to underline how determined she was.

Maze considered it for a moment, but then thought about how she'd have to tell him, and how he would react. "No! I have my orders."

"Maze! When he dies, I'll most probably die with him anyway," she retorted, hoping the other woman would see reason on that.

"You don't know that," the demon objected, but the urge to comply grew bigger and bigger.

"We can't risk it!" Chloe appealed to the other one's conscience. "I wouldn't be able to live anyway, knowing that he died to save my life. I couldn't exist with that guilt. I already got my second chance, now let him have his."

Maze was reluctant, she wanted to argue against it but Chloe quickly interrupted her thought. "You gave an oath to protect him, Maze. Now, I want you to do exactly that. I can't move as soon as the pain sets in, so I need you to bring me as far away as possible. Please, Maze."

Maze pursed her lips in anger but nodded nevertheless. After all, the detective was right, Lucifer was far more important than any demon and any human in this universe. She went to the window, smashing the glass, and climbed to the outside, taking two guards down who had been alerted by the noise and came running towards her. Chloe climbed out of the window as well, waiting until both men were put out of action, before she grabbed her companion by the arm and guided her to the exit. They quickly made their way to Lucifer's car and jumped inside, Maze behind the wheel, hitting the accelerator, and Chloe on the passenger seat, her nails digging into the material of the handle.

It didn't take long before Chloe started to scream in pain.

/-/

"We can do this all day long," Jeff announced nonchalantly, gesturing one of his men to get another strike against Lucifer's face. "Who sent you?"

"No one!" Lucifer growled back, spitting out the blood that had gathered inside his mouth. "This is the truth. It won't change no matter how long you'll beat me up." He panted, starting to feel the exhaustion and pain inside his body. But still, these humans were too petty in his eyes to have earned the pleasure of seeing him suffer.

"Well," Jeff started and took out the dagger he'd grabbed from the sink in his study room. "This little thing here is very sharp," he commented and let it swirl around between his fingers. "I've never seen something like that before, and believe me, I've seen enough daggers and knives."

"That's because this one was made in hell," Lucifer countered with a smug grin, cocking his head to show the other one that he would never be able to break him.

"Right, right. You're the devil," Jeff replied nonchalantly, making it very clear that he didn't believe him one single word. "A devil who is quite human, and weak, if you ask me." He looked up, seeing his sitting opponent grinning widely. "Tell me, why is that?"

Lucifer chuckled at his question. "Because of a woman," he stated the obvious and his eyes sparkled at the thought of Chloe. He didn't mind getting beaten up, or dying, if that was what would happen. He knew, Chloe was safe. Maze never failed an order, and that was all that counted. He only needed to make sure that they had enough time to gather up all the evidence and get out of that house. What happens to him after that, he didn't even care.

"It's always because of a woman," the standing man replied, a pleased smile flashing across his lips. "So, tell me," he halted, to give more meaning to the question. "Who sent you?"

Lucifer chuckled again, taking a breath, before he answered, his voice setting an indifferent tone: "No one." The hit against his face came almost immediately and this time the impact made him fall to the floor along with the chair.

Jeff waited until the chair was placed up again, before he continued with his interrogation. "Tell me, this dagger here, made in hell, is this able to kill you?"

"As if I'd tell you," Lucifer spat back, glaring at the man in hatred.

Jeff only chuckled, waving the weapon around, and stated nonchalantly: "I'll just find out myself then." He leaped forward and pushed the blade into Lucifer's biceps.

Lucifer clenched his teeth, not willing to let the other one have satisfaction in hearing his anguished cry. He was the master of torture after all, he knew all the fun things. He panted heavily, trying to breathe the pain away that rushed through his body. Taking in another sharp breath, his pants suddenly became erratic. Something wasn't right. He knew the effects of demon daggers, there had been enough fights with them in hell to know the type of pain, but this suddenly felt different: burning, hurting, something cutting through his flesh from inside. "No!" he cried out lowly, panic creeping up on his spine. His head tilted backwards, he closed his eyes shut, searching for her presence inside of him. "No! Chloe!" he cried out in desperation, louder this time, as he felt her presence getting weaker and weaker and suddenly disappear. His cries turned into agonising screams as he felt the exploding sensation, ripping him apart from the inside.

Some of the guards shirked away in fright, the others stared perplexed between him and their boss, not knowing what to do. Jeff halted in his move for a second strike, and watched with blank eyes the man in front of him stretching his upper body towards the ceiling, his head so painfully tilted backwards that he was already waiting for that cracking sound of his neck, and screaming from the top of his lungs.

As sudden as it came, it was all over and Lucifer sank limply back into his chair, the ropes on his arms keeping his upper body from falling forwards. His head was prone and he made no move at all, only the fast lifting and lowering of his chest signified that he was still alive.

Jeff wanted to step forward to check on the man and find out what just had happened, as a low, devilish chuckle resounded through the room, getting louder as Lucifer slowly lifted his head.

His eyes were already fiery red as he announced, a wide, almost disturbed looking smile stretching his lips to his ears: "You have no idea what you have gotten yourself into." His voice was two shades darker than normal, accompanied by an instant darker echo of its own tone. The pale skin on his face disappeared, revealing the raw, red coloured flesh and the deep, dark scars. He heard some screams around him, pleas of having mercy with them, as he tore the ropes around his wrists with ease and stood up from the chair. "I won't have mercy with you," he simply replied, adding: "I'm not Jesus."

His threatening voice was the last thing they heard before everything went quiet and the devil let out his rage on them.

/-/

Lucifer hadn't needed much time to rip these filthy human beings from their earthly existence and soon he was running out of the house and down the street to his car, or better, where he had parked it. "Maze!" he screamed desperately as he didn't find anyone of them anywhere and rushed further down the street that seemed the most likely one they had taken.

The pain had been evidence enough, and he couldn't sense her any longer, but still, the little voice inside his heart that humans called _hope_ didn't want to shut up. He had to be sure, to be absolutely certain, if he really had lost his Chloe for all eternity.

Running further down the street, he suddenly made out a car that was heading towards him on full speed, he didn't slow down or went out of the way either, but kept on running towards them.

Maze had to step on the brakes with all the strength that was in her, and the tyres squealed shrilly before she finally managed to stop the car.

Lucifer bumped against the bonnet to stop his own speed and darted towards the passenger door, ripping it open and catching Chloe's lifeless body falling into his arms. "No! No! No!" His cries got more frantic with each further word, not willing to believe the truth, as he lifted her head and saw the ashen-pale skin, streaked by some blue lines, and the opaque eyes that stared blankly into distance. "Chloe, no!" he screamed out in desperation and hugged her body against his own. His legs quit their service and he collapsed to the ground, the fall only eased by Maze who had run from out of her seat and to her master for support. Lucifer shrugged her hands off of him and hugged the cold body closer to his heart. "I told you to protect her," he suddenly screamed at his demon, before turning his face back to Chloe and repeating in a whisper: "You should have protected her."

"It was her wish, Lucifer," Maze explained to him calmly, anger and sorrow swinging in her tone. "She made the decision that you should live."

"I don't wanna live without her," he yelled back, his eyes burning with fire. The tears that had been in the corners now ran down his cheeks freely as he rocked the lifeless body back and forth. "Please, don't take her away from me," he whispered, hugging her tighter and kissing her against the hair. He tilted his head backwards, his eyes staring towards heaven as he repeated once again: "Please, dad. I do what you want. Please, bring her back. I'll do anything." Lowering his head again, he whispered: "Please, I love her."

He rocked her back and forth again, his own body starting to shake in exhaustion and ache, as suddenly a sharp inhale of breath was heard and Chloe's body came back to life.

"Chloe!" Lucifer cried out, startled at her sudden resurrection, but his reflexes were quick enough to not let his beloved fall to the ground. Instead, he lifted her further up, hugging her tighter and kissing her all over the face. "I have you back," he cried with relief, letting his tears run freely down his cheeks, his body trembling as the adrenaline rush in his veins started to cease.

"What happened?" Chloe questioned flabbergasted; she'd been in the car, screaming in agonising pain and suddenly she found herself in Lucifer's arms, tightly wrapped around her own body.

Lucifer hasn't had time to answer her question as suddenly a bright, white light emerged from between them, wrapping up all three of them and blending out all their surroundings.

As the light disappeared again, Chloe blinked several times to adjust her eyes, and she glanced around, seeing trees and grass to one side, and Maze to the other. She looked up and stared into the dark brown eyes of Lucifer, smiling brightly at her. The bruises and blood on his face had disappeared, he looked as if this whole beating up had never been happened. She tightened her grip on him, resolute not to let go of him a second time. "What happened?" she repeated her question, softer this time, since the fright and pain had already vanished from her body.

"He brought you back to me," Lucifer explained, and a hinge of sorrow flashed across his smile. He hugged Chloe tighter against his body, running his hand across her back, feeling her warmth, and buried his nose into her hair, breathing in her scent. He kissed his way to her forehead, pressing her further against himself, and whispered against her skin: "I have you back."

"Where are we?" Maze questioned, completely puzzled. She stared around, not recognising the place.

"In hell," his dark voice resounded, free of any emotions. He kissed Chloe against the hair once more before he released the grip around her a little to look at her properly, as he explained: "That was the deal." Taking a short breath, he elucidated further: "I spoke to dad. He granted me Chloe's life, as long as I am in hell."

Chloe swallowed the lump in her throat that made it hard for her to breathe. She lowered her head, snuggling up against his chest to feel the soothing feeling of his close contact as she processed his words. Once again, he'd risked his life for her, given up his freedom on earth to save her. Her heart skipped a beat and her body trembled lightly as she became aware of the magnitude of his actions for her; something that was so indescribably monumental that the word _love_ wasn't even nowhere near its description.

"You alright?" he whispered against her hair, nudging her temple with the tip of his nose as he felt her overwhelming emotions. He hugged her tighter as he felt the light shiver of her limbs around him, hoping that this would warm her up a little.

Chloe buried her head into his neck and squinted her eyes, letting the tears that had welled up fall down onto his skin.

Lucifer instantly lifted her head as he felt the wet pearls, wiping away their remains on her cheek. Assuming that she cried because, once again, she was stuck down here with him, unable to be with her daughter, he apologised to her, lowly: "I'm sorry."

"No!" Chloe objected on the spot, shaking her head to make clear that it wasn't his fault at all. "You gave up your life for me." She swallowed again, biting back the fresh tears that wanted to leave her eyes. "It's fine, Lucifer. I've made my decision." She blinked, and this time, the tears ran down her face again.

Lucifer felt her pain as if it was his own. She loved her child, and being away from it was so unbearable hurtful, he wished he could rip out his heart to not feel it any longer. He pressed her against himself, hoping to give her at least some comfort with that, as it suddenly shot into his mind where exactly they were. He turned around his head, seeing the lake in his back and remembered the moment he and Ian were looking for Chloe and Lex, and the innocent words his second-in-command had told him back then: _'She was with me'._ Of course, Chloe hadn't felt any pain because a part of him was with her all the time. That's what he got aware of in this moment but quickly buried deep down inside of him. And that was also what rose up into his mind during the talk with Linda this morning. The resolution to set Chloe free from his cage, to let her live with her daughter apart from him. He hadn't wanted to think about that all the time, because up to now he wasn't ready, couldn't bear to let her go. But she gave up her life for him, literally, to protect him. She sacrificed herself for him, so he could survive. He swallowed, and bit back the tears from his eyes, taking a deep breath to gather up all the courage inside of him, to do what he was about to do. "I made my decision, too," he whispered to Chloe, but before she could reply anything, he turned his head to his right-hand demon. "Go to Lex and Ian, bring them to the gates and wait for us there. Tell them, they'll go to earth."

Maze saw the importance of this task in his eyes and obeyed without a comment. She nodded quickly and ran off.

"What are you up to?" Chloe questioned flabbergasted as he let her sink down slowly into the soft grass.

"Don't worry, Chloe. I won't harm you," he simply replied and turned himself into his true form. Ignoring her gasp, he commanded in a stern, but warm tone: "Stay still." Her body instantly obeyed and she could do nothing but stare with eyes wide open as he opened his ribcage and ripped off a piece from his heart. His hands wandered to her chest and he buried them inside of her, opening her ribcage as well. With one hand he ripped off a piece of her heart as well, and with the other he put his own in its place before he closed her chest again, and put her piece into the hole of his heart, closing his own chest after he was done and ending the spell on her.

Chloe hadn't felt any pain but still her body was stiff as a poker, shocked at what she'd just seen. Her mind couldn't even start to function normally as he grabbed around her, pulling her to her feet, and, his hand tightly clasped around hers, started to quickly walk into the direction of the gates.

"What did you just do?" she questioned puzzled, as she finally managed to voice the thought in her head.

"Something I should have done right from the beginning," Lucifer answered, back into his human form. "I give you the chance to be away from me without feeling any pain. Your life won't depend on me any longer," he explained, not hiding the sadness in his voice. "Now come," he told her and pulled her further, increasing the pace. "We have to hurry," he explained, leaving out that it was because he wouldn't be able to let her go, if he'd have too much time to think about it.

"Lucifer, what are you doing?" Chloe questioned, using all her strength to pull at his grip and make him stop.

He turned around to her, sighing and gathering up his courage to speak, before he explained: "I made a promise to you, remember?" Seeing her nod, he continued: "I'll keep my promise." He turned around, pulling again on her hand and this time she didn't baulk against it but kept up with his pace.

They walked so fast, it took them only a couple of minutes to reach the gates where the others were already waiting for them – and further instructions.

Coming to a halt, Lucifer, once again, turned around to Chloe and brought his hands up to her cheeks, feeling her soft skin as he stated: "I can't come with you. I gave my oath to my father that I'll stay down in hell, and I will do. For you, Chloe. You won't die or feel pain any longer when you're away from me, and I'll grant you ten years on earth, with your daughter. But please you have to promise me that, after that, you'll come back to me." He sucked in his breath to keep his voice from trembling and bit back the tears that had welled up at the corners of his eyes and threatened to fall down. "Please promise me you'll come back."

"I'll come back," Chloe assured him sincerely, the tears, half of joy and half of sorrow, running freely down her cheeks. She clasped her hands around his wrists, holding him tight against her, as she raised herself on tiptoes.

Lucifer bent down and met her halfway, passionately pressing his mouth against her lips, feeling the soft flesh, savouring her sweet taste and breathing in her delightful scent, trying to memorise as much of it as possible. As he broke the kiss, his lips remaining closely above hers, he whispered once again: "Ten years."

"I promise you, I'll come back, Lucifer," Chloe assured him again and nodded against his forehead.

He raised his head, turning to the others. "Lex and Ian, you'll go with her and protect her, with your life if necessary, is that clear?" Both demons nodded eagerly and he went on: "Do you have the coins?" They nodded once again, showing him the three pentecostal coins that granted they would enter hell again. Sighing, he nodded approvingly and turned his attention back to the woman his hands had still tightly gripped. He bent down again, kissing her once more and ran his thumb across her lips after he pulled back again, before he let go of her completely. "Now go," he ordered and stepped away from her to bring some distance between them.

Chloe took a step forward, trying to touch him one last time, but he drew back from her attempt, stepping further away. "Go! Before I change my mind," he ordered more sternly.

Sensing what effort it must take him to go against his inner wishes, Ian stepped forward, gripped firmly around Chloe's arms and dragged her backwards towards the gates. He didn't mind where he was, as long as he was with Lex and he knew she didn't, either. He exchanged a brief glance with her, seeing her sad eyes as they walked further away from the gates. Both knew how much pain it caused to be away from the one you love, and felt deep respect for their master to grant the detective such a huge wish, and deep sympathy for Chloe of what she would have to endure now.

Chloe felt like stumbling as she got pulled further and further away from Lucifer, who'd turned on his heels and quickly walked back. She couldn't take her eyes off of him, her mind still struggling to process of what he'd just did for her and only turned into the other direction as she saw him disappear behind a corner.

Lucifer walked faster and faster and started to run as the pain inside his chest increased so much that he couldn't keep it down any longer. He ran as fast as he could before he screamed out in agony and collapsed down to his knees as the pain of already missing her and the fear of losing her again overpowered him.

Maze was quickly at his side, supportively holding his back so he wouldn't fall further down and running her hand across his arm. "You're in pain again?"

"Yes," he confirmed between sobs, breathing in sharply to stifle his cries. "But this time, it's my own," he explained to her and wiped the tears off of his cheeks, breathing in some more to calm himself down.

Maze knelt down next to him and her hand on his arm moved to his back, rubbing across it to help soothing his ache. She sighed and commented lowly to her master: "It's gonna be a very interesting life from now on. With a Devil that loves."

~ ~ The End ~ ~

* * *

 **A/N:** Yes you've read correct. This was the end. A rather cruel or agonising one. I hope you don't hate me for it. And if you do, please tell me :D; tell me all the truth and nothing but the truth how you found that little story of mine :D

As I also told you, I will upload two epiloges in some time from now, yes they are already written and won't be changed, but there is a 50 % chance that they'll get their happy end ;) Maybe :D

Have a nice day!

:o)


	22. Epilogue 1

**A/N:** Hello my dears. Actually I wanted to wait with uploading this epilogue till Sunday, but I couldn't bear keeping them apart till the rest of the year, which isn't much, but hell would disagree. ;)

The **beta-read** was done by Daemon. You rock!

Enjoy!

* * *

Epilogue 1:

"And with that, I officially declare the class of 2026 to be dismissed," the school principal announced loudly and was greeted by cries of joy and heavy applause as the black hats of its graduates flew high into the bright, blue sky.

It was an unusually sunny and warm day for this time of the year, and Chloe breathed in the fresh air, enjoying the rays of the sun, as she watched her daughter standing in the front rows, hugging her peers and laughing heartily. She was as proud as a mother could be to have such a strong, intelligent and beautiful daughter. As she saw her saying her goodbyes and running towards her, she stood up, stepping out of the row from between her ex-husband, his new family, and her two companions, and walked several steps towards her daughter's direction.

Trixie fell into her mother's arms, hugging her tightly and smiling with glee. It was almost a perfect day with her whole family here, watching her graduate, and the positive answer of the police academy already in her pocket. Almost! Because this was also the day she would have to say her final goodbye, her farewell to her mother. Trixie's grip around her tightened, as she snuggled closer, relishing the warm, calming feelings the hug stirred up inside of her. It wasn't long until her mother would leave and she wanted to keep this close contact for as long as she could.

"I'm so proud of you, babe," Chloe whispered into her daughter's hair, kissing her on the head, before she added: "And I love you so, so much." She hugged her tighter, feeling the tickling of her daughter's hair against her nose as she breathed in her scent. This was the day; the day she had prepared her daughter for since she'd been back, then, 10 years ago. And albeit she knew her daughter was in good hands, would be cared for and loved by her ex-husband's new family, with her new stepmother, half-brother, and, soon, half-sister, it also clouded her heart that she would now leave her alone. One part of her was sad, and wanted to stay forever with her daughter, but the other, bigger part was looking forward to go. It wasn't just a promise she had to keep, it was only thanks to the thought of seeing Lucifer again, that had made her get up in the mornings on those days when the longing was too much.

"I love you, too, mummy," Trixie replied truthfully as she stared into her mother's eyes before her grip around her tightened again in a bear hug. She took a deep breath, inhaling in her fragrance to remember it for as long as she could. She knew this day would come. She'd known it since the day Lucifer had brought her mother back to her. And she was grateful for the time she had spent with her, that her mother was at her side when she needed her the most. Back then, she hadn't realised what her mother had given up on to be with her. Her mother had always been tough on the outside, had smiled to her, assured her that everything was alright, but even then, when she was still little, she knew it wasn't the whole truth. She'd never seen her mother's smiles reaching her eyes since the day she had brought down these three highly influential men and put them behind bars; when she had broken this mammoth case. And sometimes, when she'd sneaked up on her in the middle of the night, she found her mum lying on the bed, crying her eyes out. Back then, Ian had always come, brought her back into her own room and tucked her back under her blanket. And when she'd asked why mummy was crying, he had explained to her that her mummy was missing Lucifer. But how much she really did, Trixie only understood it now, since she had her own boyfriend.

"Hey, hot mum," the boy in question called loudly as he rushed to them, quickly bringing the two out of their thoughts and tight embrace.

"Clyde!" Trixie turned to her boyfriend, rebuking him: "How often have I told you to stop calling my mum that? It's gross."

"Sorry, babe," he apologised, grinning, and gave her a kiss on the mouth.

"Does your old dad also get a kiss?" Dan questioned, smiling, and stepped towards his daughter.

"'Course, dad," Trixie assured him, and hugged him tightly before she kissed him dearly on the cheek.

"I made a lot of pictures of you, Trixie. Mummy helped me with it," a little boy of seven years stated, falling around her legs and hugging her tight.

Trixie bent down, beaming at her little brother. "Thank you, Teddy. I'm sure they'll be great."

"Don't worry, your father also took some with his camera," a heavily pregnant Ella assured her, stepping to her husband and clasping her arm into his to support her own weight.

"Auntie Chloe, are you really leaving now?" little Teddy questioned her after he'd let go of his sister.

Chloe bent down, ruffling his dark brown curly hair, as she answered, a sad tone in her voice: "Yes, my dear."

"Are Ian and Lex staying?" he questioned further, clasping his tiny arms around her legs and hugging tight.

"No, they're coming with me," she explained to him, and it broke her heart to see his eyes sadden even more.

"But I will miss you," Teddy stated, sneaking a glance towards the couple before he locked his eyes back on Chloe.

"We all will miss them, honey," Ella explained warmly, stepping towards him. "Come on, let go of Chloe, she needs to talk to your dad," she told him and grabbed his shoulder. As Teddy kept on holding tight, Ian stepped to him, chuckling, and picked him up. The little boy struggled stubbornly, but quickly clasped his arms around Ian's neck, holding tight.

Chloe nodded thankfully and took her ex some distance away from the little group, her back turned to her daughter, before she started in a low voice: "I made some letters for Trixie." Seeing his quick nod, she withdrew them out of her bag, explaining as she gave them to him: "These are letters for her birthdays, for Christmas, when she successfully completes the police academy, one for in case she fails." She halted briefly to wait for Dan's nod that he would give them to her, knowing he wasn't pleased with their daughter's career choice. After it came, she went on: "One for when little Clyde over there breaks her heart. This one is for when she sees her first dead body, in case it happens. And this one here is for when she marries." She sighed deeply as she stared at the stack in Dan's hands. Of course it wouldn't be anything comparable to having her mother there on such important dates, but with them she hoped to provide Trixie at least a bit of support.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You already told me, Chloe," Dan replied, the light annoyance clear in his tone, as he stowed them away under his jacket. "Look, Chloe, I know you said several times to me now, that you won't come back. I can understand that. But really? I mean, where on earth will you go, where there ain't any network connection?" he questioned, slightly miffed. "You know, a letter can't replace hearing your voice, or seeing you for real."

"Dan, I told you I'll go to Lucifer," Chloe answered and took a deep breath. Of course he would come up with that again, and of course it would be right here and now. She shook her head. Sometimes she felt as if talking to a wall had more effect than talking to her ex.

"Yes, and please, tell me the truth," Dan urged her once again. "Where exactly are you going?" He'd asked her that question a lot, and always got the same insane answer.

"I already told you, Dan." Chloe sighed, it would be useless to explain it to him once again, knowing his reluctance to believe her. And she couldn't be mad at him for it. If she wouldn't know what she knew, hadn't seen what she saw, she wouldn't believe herself, either. Seeing his upcoming protest, she sighed again, and tried once more: "I'll go down to hell, to Lucifer, to be with him for eternity."

Dan rolled his eyes, and huffed, shaking his head: "Alright, I got it, you don't want to tell me where you're going. But maybe, when you're there with him, all happy, you'll remember that you also have a daughter here, and maybe you deign to call her from time to time."

Chloe stared at him, angry, and bit back the tears that welled up at the corners of her eyes. It was useless to discuss with him on that part. He didn't want to understand. He never would. At least her daughter had her back; she knew that Trixie understood her and supported her. She turned around and went back to her daughter, once again taking her into her arms.

"I really will miss you three," Ella sighed and sniffled back the tears. "It was so much fun helping you with your private investigations," she commented and bent forward to hug Chloe and then Lex. Letting out a low "ugh," as she felt the baby kicking from inside the womb, she turned to Ian, hugging him tightly as she ended: "And your skills as my favourite babysitter."

"It was a pleasure to take care of your little bear," Ian replied warmly and released her from out of the embrace.

"You'll have your hands full with helping my daughter when she becomes a cop," Chloe replied smiling and hugging her daughter again, before she planted another kiss against her temple.

As Dan let out a low huff, giving once again away that he wasn't pleased at all that his daughter wanted to follow her parents footsteps, Trixie rolled her eyes. "Dad, please!" she cautioned him not to let out the rant she'd already had with him some weeks earlier as she'd told both her parents that she wanted to be a cop. "My granddad was a cop, mum was a cop, you're still a cop. Did you really think I would want to become anything else than a cop?" she countered, flashing him a proud smile, and thinking back at the instant support she got from her mother.

"Well, at least, you don't want to become a private investigator," Dan joked and stretched his lips into a smile, before he stepped forward and kissed his daughter on the forehead to assure her that he wouldn't say anything more about that topic. After all, this was his daughter's special day.

Chloe forced a smile at his words. She knew he didn't mean it in a bad way, but it also brought back the memories of the day she'd quit the job for good. She still heard the words her lieutenant had told her after the mammoth case resounding in her head. When she'd told her that, with that big of a case in her file, she could become anything she wanted. When her lieutenant had placed her batch and her gun onto the table without another word, showing that she was instantly willing to give her her old position back, had even offered her a promotion, but Chloe had denied all of this; had told them she wanted to have more time for her daughter, and that this could only be provided when she'd become a private investigator, where she could choose the cases, and the times.

But the truth was, she couldn't bear being one single minute longer in the precinct, where everything reminded her of him. Her desk, where he was sitting on sometimes, or the stairs he'd walked down to her, even the snack vending machine, he'd hit against, when it didn't want to give him his chosen snacks. Everything inside this building reminded her of Lucifer, and sometimes it even felt as if he would walk up to her at any minute. Then she frantically turned around searching for him, just to be reminded once again that he wasn't there, and it cut the air from her lungs, made her choke on her pain.

They even changed into a different house because she couldn't stand being in it, where everything reminded her of him. She couldn't sleep in her own bed, in which he'd been the night after she'd shot Lex, hugging her tight and soothing her cries. Everything reminded her of him, and that was too much. She'd ordered Ian to take care of LUX and Lucifer's apartment, told him to throw everything away, because she couldn't bear to even think of it.

And then, after a while, it got easier. The cries lessened. And when she was missing him too much, she'd clasped her hands above her chest, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, feeling his presence inside her heart. The job had been a pick-nick. Thanks to her new powers, she and Lex were very good in persuading people to tell them what they knew or where suspects were; and she got a small taste of how all these women must have felt when Lucifer had done his 'mind-trick', as she used to call it. But it also meant that she had more time to think about him. She hadn't known how much she'd loved him as her partner, how much she wanted him, needed him at her side for solving crimes, before she had no other choice than doing it without him. Yes, Lex was a really good partner as well, doing what she told her to, and providing her with as much space and support as she needed to, but still, she wasn't him. No one could replace Lucifer, and she counted the days to when she'd finally meet him again.

"Ready to go?" Lex questioned and instantly brought Chloe out of her thoughts.

She nodded, and once again hugged Dan, Teddy and Ella, caressed across her tummy with baby Tabby inside, and gave her daughter's boyfriend a friendly hug, before she turned her attention back to Trixie. She hugged her tightly, kissing her head. "I love you, Beatrice. And I'm proud of you, every single day."

"And I love you, mummy," Trixie replied with tears in her eyes but a big smile on her lips, kissing her mother on the cheek. It was painful to feel her mother leaving now, but she'd made peace with it. After all, she had been granted ten more years with her. That was more than others got, and she was happy for it. But now was the time her mother deserved some of that happiness as well. She stepped to her father's side, hugging him tightly, as she watched her mother and her two friends leave.

/-/

It was a big contrast to step from the bright sunny day into the dark twilight of hell. They walked in silence towards the gates, and Lex took the lead as the guards appeared, paying them to open the gates and let them inside.

Chloe stepped cautiously onto the new ground, as if she'd just crossed a border of which she knew there was no turning back. She took a breath, almost choking on the air filled with brimstone, and watched the ash falling down on them like snowflakes.

They were back in hell.

The further they walked towards Lucifer's chambers, the more nervous she got. She clenched her fists, fiddling with her fingers, as her mind brought her back to the pictures she painted in her head, showing her how their reunion could be. But she didn't know how he would react. After all, it had been many more years down here in hell than up there on earth. Would he still love her? Would he still want her? Would he still feel the feelings he had for her up on earth? Not knowing anything about it almost ripped her apart.

"What took you so long?"

A deep, dark voice resounded calmly from behind and Chloe's heart instantly missed a beat before it started to run in her chest like a steam machine on full speed. She took several long breaths, trying to calm herself down, before she slowly turned around.

There stood Lucifer, looking like on the day they'd said their goodbyes to each other, but he seemed much more mature now. He was calm, a little sad below the surface, and she didn't know if he simply didn't feel anything anymore, or if he held himself back. Chloe greeted him with a warm smile but also bit her lip to prevent it from stretching across her whole face, and restrained herself from leaping forward and falling around his neck.

"Little mischief, soldier boy," Lucifer greeted his two demons who beamed at him, before he turned his eyes on Chloe, taking in her looks. She was more beautiful than he'd remembered. "Welcome back," he greeted them calmly, smiling, his eyes fixed on her. Inside of him, however, his emotions ran rollercoaster. He knew it were only ten years for her, but people change; and on earth, they seemed to change in the blink of an eye. Would she be mad at him for forcing her to live down here from now on? Would she accept him, and maybe one day fall in love with him as well? He didn't know, and it was this little unknown thing that kept him from stepping forward and greeting her the way he wanted to, the way he'd depicted it in his mind every day since the day she'd left hell.

With his outstretched arm he gestured towards the direction of his chambers, silently prompting them to continue their walk, and Lex and Ian instantly turned around, walking ahead, while he adjusted to Chloe's pace. They didn't speak one single word to each other as they walked ahead, wrapped in complete silence. And with each step further, with each increase of the distance to their fellows before them, the distance between them decreased, until they felt each other's presence. With their arms almost touching, they walked side by side. Slowly, as if drawn by an invisible force, the backs of their fingers met, sending flashes through their bodies. Millions of ants rushed through their flesh, and eventually, they turned their hands and intertwined their fingers with each other. They stole glances towards each other and smiled as they caught the other's eyes. The warms radiated through their bodies, calming them down as they increased the pressure around their fingers, tightening the grip.

"Can we go to Maze?" Lex questioned loudly, instantly bringing both out of their own little world.

Lucifer looked up, answering her with a calm, deep voice: "Go ahead. She's in your old torture chamber." As the pair nodded and rushed out of sight, Lucifer turned his head to Chloe, taking in the sight of her for the first time since their hands had met. "I took the liberty to build your own chambers for you," he explained in a low voice, turning a little and guiding her towards the direction. "I thought that, since you will spend a long time down here from now on, you would like to have something of your own."

"Thank you," Chloe replied warmly, smiling at him, but feeling insecure about his words. Did this mean that he didn't want her to be near him?

They walked further in silence and Chloe continued wondering about the feelings he had had for her, and if they'd changed. Only the continuing caress of his thumb across her fingers assured her that there still must be some sort of caring for her inside of him.

As they came to her new _chambers_ , Chloe had to do a double-take. She halted shortly, gaping at the house that presented itself in front of her, and Lucifer let out a light chuckle as he saw her astonishment.

"You like it?" he questioned, smiling at her, and already know her answer.

Chloe gaped some more before she found her voice back. "Is that – my old house?" she questioned flabbergasted, still not believing what she saw.

"Well, as much as I remembered it, at least," he answered and led her inside.

Chloe let go of his hand as she quickly walked through the rooms. It was bright, even the garden outside was filled with fresh-looking green grass, and when she looked through the frosted glass windows from inside she could almost assume that a sun was shining outside. She turned back to him, her eyes sparkling. "Oh my-" she quickly covered her mouth to prevent herself from speaking out the last word.

"It's alright," Lucifer assured her, chuckling. He had hoped she would like it, but from her reaction to it, he knew she did a little more than that. He sighed, and his smile vanished from his face as he took in her presence and spoke from the bottom of his heart with a voice barely above a whisper: "I'm glad that you're back."

Chloe clenched her teeth to stop her jaw from trembling. She hugged her arms around herself, nodding towards him as she replied with a whisper: "I've promised you."

Taking a deep sigh, Lucifer closed the distance to her, halting only as he was directly in front of her, but hesitated to touch her right away. "Of course," he affirmed her, and as if it had its own mind, his finger moved forward and touched one of her hands. A shiver ran down his spine as once again, he felt her soft skin beneath his tip. He sighed relieved as her hand clasped around it and moved towards him as well, and their fingers intertwined anew. "I knew you would keep your promise. I always have," he assured her, and relished the close contact with her. Feeling the touch of her hand on his own again was something he'd longed for, for so long. And a part of him still couldn't believe that he finally had her back.

"How long has it been for you?" Chloe questioned as she watched their fingers playing with each other, taking in the sensation his touch stirred up inside of her.

His hand stopped in its movement, and Lucifer decreased the space between them a little more, taking her hand fully into both of his and moving it up to his lips, tenderly brushing against the soft skin before he answered: "3672 years, 3 months, 11 days, 18 hours and 40 minutes. Not that I was counting," he added, smirking and winking at her, but there was a sadness in his eyes that almost ripped the heart out of Chloe's chest.

She leaned forward, placing soft kisses onto each of his knuckles, before she looked up into his dark brown eyes. "I've missed you so much," she admitted, and the diamonds that had remained sparkling in the corners of her eyes now ran freely down her cheeks.

"Chloe," Lucifer breathed out and grasped around her, hugging her tight and picking her up from the ground. "I've missed you, too," he confessed between kisses against her cheek. Taking in a deep breath to finally smell her sweet scent again, he hugged her tighter, barely able to hold back his own tears as he pleaded softly: "Please don't leave me again."

"Never ever!" Chloe assured him, her arms tightly wrapped around him, and she moved her head, tilting it a little, and brought her lips down to his in a gentle kiss. "I'm yours forever," she assured him, before her lips locked back onto his. "Please tell me you stay by my side," she whispered to him as he moved them towards the bedroom.

"Forever, Chloe! I won't ever let you go again," he told her, kissing her deeply and closing the door.

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 **A/N:** Hope you liked it.

Have a Happy New Year! And a nice day!

:o)


	23. Epilogue 2

**A/N:** Hello my dear readers. Have I already mentioned how awesome I find you all? If not, here it is: You all are awesome! Thank you so much for your continuing support, all the reviews and for putting my story to your favourites or follows. Here is the second epilogue of my story and, therewith, the end of it. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

This chapter is **beta-read** by Daemon. All remaining mistakes are my own. ;)

Enjoy!

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"What a bright sunny day," Lucifer commented nonchalantly as they stepped onto the lawn in front of the big church. He turned around, eyeing Chloe from the side. "You ready?" He watched her staring at the building, taking a deep breath and nodding her assent. He moved his hand up to her cheek, with his thumb wiping away the sparkling tear in her eye, before he clasped his arm around her shoulders, hugging her tightly and kissing her temple. "Come on, then," he whispered and led her towards the side entry.

Maze had her arms folded in front of her chest, reluctantly staring at the church. "I'll never understand these human customs," she remarked and shook her head in disbelief.

Lex looked up at her, casually mentioning: "There's a cake afterwards, and mostly a lot of willing young men." Her companion lifted her eyebrow at the words and eyed her in anticipation.

"I meant you, too," Lucifer barked from before the door and the demons quickly rushed to him, lining up behind him and Chloe as they entered the little lobby.

Their footsteps resounded through the little staircase as they walked up the wooden stairs to the first floor, and then further down the hallway to the far end. Lucifer knocked three times against the door and pressed down the handle, widely opening the door without waiting for an invitation.

The two women, sitting in front of a dressing table, startled at the sudden noise and turned around; their eyes big in surprise and wonder. "Mum!" Trixie cried out, covering her wide gaping mouth with her hand before she leaped out of her chair with glee and rushed towards her mother.

"Hey baby," Chloe greeted her and held her arms wide open, taking several steps towards her daughter before she clasped them around her, hugging her dearly. "I've missed you so much." Tears of joy ran down her cheeks as she could finally hold her beloved daughter in her arms again.

"I've missed you, too, mum," Trixie sobbed, smearing her freshly applied make-up and snuggling into her mother's neck. "Every night I've prayed to god to send you to me today, and here you are," she told her, hugging her even tighter, breathing in her mother's scent and relishing the soothing feeling of her arms around her.

"Yes," Chloe assured her daughter, planting several kisses against her hair while she ran her hands across Trixie's back.

Leaving the two to their intimate moment, Lucifer turned towards the woman who stood to the side, staring at them, flabbergasted. "I assume we haven't met yet. I'm Lucifer Morningstar. Nice to meet you," he introduced himself cheekily and held his hand outstretched towards her.

"Ella," she replied absent-mindedly, but then quickly shook herself out of her stare and introduced herself properly, while shaking his offered hand: "Ella Espinoza. I'm her stepmum. Nice to meet you, too." It was strange. For nine long years they hadn't heard the slightest thing from Chloe or her friends, and suddenly here they were, standing in front of them as if no time had passed. She took a deep breath and tilted her head a little as she noticed that neither Chloe nor Lex nor Ian had aged one bit during that long time. Come to speak of the man who looked so dashingly handsome, with the voice of an angel but with the name of the devil. Involuntarily, she remembered some of the talks she had with her stepdaughter over the whereabouts of her mother. Back then she didn't believe her, but she couldn't help the little voice inside of her, telling her that it might have been the truth. Something tugged at her dress, quickly bringing her out of her thoughts, and she looked down, seeing her daughter looking up to her with sparkles in her eyes, stretching her hands out to her, and she quickly picked her up.

"I'm Tabetha," the little girl introduced herself and stretched her left hand towards Lucifer while her other was securely wrapped around her mother's neck.

Lucifer smiled at her, relieved that she didn't fling her arms directly around him. "Lucifer, nice to meet you, young lady. I hope you're not the little spawn's spawn," he commented warily as he looked back and forth between Trixie and her, noticing the close resemblance towards them. His words were directly answered with a slap against his arm.

"Lucifer! She's my sister," Trixie declared sternly, before her features immediately softened again and she, laughing out, wrapped her arms around him in a dear hug.

The devil returned the hug with delight, smiling at her and, as they parted again, gave her the once-over. "Now look at you, little offspring. You're all grown-up and stunningly beautiful," he stated with impression and affection. Well, he had no doubt about that part, after all, she was the spawn of Chloe, he thought to himself and his smile widened even further.

Chloe harrumphed and leaned into him, grabbing him by the arm, and cautiously reminded him: "She's still my daughter, Lucifer."

"I know that, darling," he countered teasingly and bent forward to kiss Chloe briefly on the lips.

After Trixie was done greeting Maze and Lex in a hug and had turned to Ian, he questioned curiously as he wrapped his arms around her: "So, are you marrying that Clyde guy?"

"Hell no!" Trixie exclaimed, sending an apologising glance towards Ella for cursing, before she turned back to the others, explaining: "That prick had cheated on me half a year after graduation."

"I knew it!" Lex hissed under her breath. "I should have kicked his ass right away."

Trixie laughed out at the familiar reaction, glad that they had kept their personas, despite the long absence. "Don't worry, my dad had the pleasure to do so," she assured her, adding with a wink: "And besides, I did a much better catch afterwards. His name is Dylan, and he fulfils my every wish." She sighed deeply, and her eyes beamed with delight as she thought at her soon to be wedded husband.

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Chloe stated, sadness swinging in her voice as she once again hugged her daughter. "And that you had to go through this alone."

"I wasn't," Trixie replied right away, shaking her head and smiling at her mother. "My family had my back, and your letter really helped. All of them, actually." After a short pause she looked at her mother, her eyes narrowed in suspicion: "How did you know he would do something like that?"

Chloe shrugged her shoulders, smiling back at her daughter, and simply answered: "A mother knows." She hugged her once again, kissing her on the forehead and lightly swinging with her from side to side as she complimented her: "You look so beautiful in your dress."

Maze waited until both had ended their embrace before she nudged Lex into her side, reminding her of the box in her pocket. Lex instantly nodded at her and took a step towards Trixie, explaining to her: "This is a gift from all of us for your wedding. They're very old, and Maze added something blue to them, so they're also new. And we'll borrow them to you, so everything should be covered for your wedding to have all the blessings it can have."

She handed the little box over and Trixie opened it, smiling with delight as she spotted the two little earrings in the form of daggers. "Thank you so much." Tears welled up in her eyes and Ella quickly grabbed some tissues to wipe them off and prevent them from falling down onto the dress before she guided her back to the chair and, once again, did her make-up.

The door to the room was being opened and the group turned around to see the two new arrivals.

"Ian!" Teddy called out, a big smile on his face as he spotted his former daily babysitter. The teenager went directly to him, greeting him in a brotherly hug.

"Hey teddy bear," Ian greeted back, clapping the young man's back.

Teddy instantly stepped back, a hint of annoyance in his face at the sound of his childhood nickname. "Oh, no! It's Theo now," he informed him before he sent another smile towards his direction and turned around to greet the others.

"What's going on?" Dan's perplexed voice resounded from behind as he spotted the strangers. His eyes did a double-take at the look of Chloe and Lucifer. "Chloe? You haven't age one bit!" he stated astounded, and for a brief moment he didn't know if he should stretch out his hand or step forward and greet her with a hug.

Chloe did the decision for him and embraced him in a firm hug. "Good to see you, Dan," she replied warmly, kissing his cheek and adding: "Thank you for taking such good care of our daughter."

"Well, you have all the more aged, detective douche," Lucifer greeted him, smiling and pointing towards his grey hair and the wrinkles on his face, but resisted to tease him about the light belly he'd gained.

"It's Lieutenant now," Dan countered, slightly annoyed, and forced a smile into his direction. After all these years, Lucifer still had the guts to call him by his chosen _nickname_.

Lucifer grinned smugly, replying: "Oh, Lieutenant douche, then."

"Daddy, he's so funny!" Tabetha called out loudly and chuckled, holding her arms out to him to get picked up. Seeing the other man's delighted smile at the similarities between his two daughters, Dan rolled his eyes. "Well, I'll quickly go then, and tell them to make room for five more people." He nodded towards Lucifer, before he turned around, addressing Chloe: "It's good that you could make it. It means a lot to her," he told her and nodded towards Trixie.

"Didn't want to miss that in the world," Chloe replied, briefly running her hand across his arm, before he turned and left the room.

As the make-up was all done once again, Trixie stood up from her chair and rushed back into her mother's arms. "Can you stay for the party as well?" she questioned and alternately stared between her mother and Lucifer.

"Well, my dad granted me a short visit for the ceremony only, but Chloe and the others can stay for the party," Lucifer explained to her, adding a smile.

Chloe shook her head, hugging her daughter close, as she replied to him: "Lucifer, we've talked about this. Wherever you'll go, I'll go there, too."

Lucifer stared at her, once again awed by her unconditional love towards him. It was her daughter's wedding day, and she had every reason to stay with her for as long as she wished, but still, she chose him. If there weren't so many other pairs of eyes in this room he would have instantly showed her how much this loyalty meant for him. Taking a deep breath and smiling towards his love, he suggested: "Well, let me just talk to my father, then. Maybe he'll grant us a Cinderella story." He quickly kissed Chloe, and winked at Trixie who stared at him with eyes filled with hope, before he went outside, looking for a more private area to send his prayers towards the silver city.

A couple of minutes late, he returned to the two, announcing cheerfully: "My dear father allows us all to stay until midnight, but then we have to leave."

"Great!" Trixie cried out and fell around his neck, hugging tight before she returned back to her mother, hugging her as well.

As Chloe had turned to thank Lucifer with a long passionate kiss, Ella stepped at Trixie's side, asking her with a curious and a wary eye: "Trix', when Lucifer said ' _his father_ ', did he mean-," she trailed off and pointed her finger towards the ceiling to signal what the next word was supposed to be.

Trixie beamed at her, a big smile plastered onto her face, as she answered her with a big fat nod.

~ ~ The End ~ ~

~ ~ now really ~ ~

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 **A/N:** I hope you liked this little insight. Please let me know :D

Have a nice day!

:o)


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